Chapter 71: Heaven-Grade Dormitory, Getting Stronger While Lying Down
There was a deathly silence in the Academic Affairs Officehall.
Everyone's gaze was nailed to Su Chen as if looking at a monster.
An Epic-grade BOSS.
That was a taboo existence that the military would only dare to touch if they dispatched a reinforced battalion.
And Su Chen said he killed it casually during the college entrance exam?
After a full several dozen seconds, the bespectacled boy at the window suddenly snapped back to reality.
He scrambled to dig out a brand-new academy uniform from under the counter, handed it over with both hands, his voice even trembling.
"Ju-Junior, this is your uniform."
"Alright, thank you."
Su Chen stuffed the academy uniform into his backpack and turned to walk out of the Academic Affairs Office's main entrance.
The sunlight outside the door was somewhat dazzling, dispelling the chill inside the hall.
Su Chen stopped and looked back.
Song Xin followed him out as if she had lost her soul.
Her walking posture was extremely stiff; she was moving her arm and leg on the same side, staring blankly ahead—a gait that completely disregarded everyone around her.
"Pfft, what kind of posture is that?"
Su Chen couldn't hold it in.
Song Xin stopped, her face wearing a dejected expression, her eyes staring straight at Su Chen.
That look in her eyes no longer seemed like she was looking at a human.
"Don't talk to me."
She looked completely devastated.
For an Earth-Grade Dormitory costing 500 credits a day, she had to risk her life taking on reconnaissance missions, smelling the stench of Magical Beast corpses and toxic gas just to earn it.
Thirty-three million.
Song Xin's brain was frantically converting this number.
Even if one lived in a Heaven-Grade Dormitory continuously, this amount of credits would be enough until graduation.
She could even casually rent out the neighboring buildings to raise a few kittens.
And this was just Su Chen's "initial capital."
"Pervert... You are simply a pervert..."
Song Xin took half a step back, her gaze toward Su Chenfilled with awe, as well as a trace of sour envy.
"What is that expression?"
Su Chen shrugged, spread his hands, and said with the most sincere tone possible: "I'm just an ordinary freshman."
"Ordinary..."
Song Xin's mouth twitched, and she almost cursed out loud.
Listen to that, is that human language?
She took a deep breath, and after her emotions calmed down, the dullness on her face slowly faded.
In the gaze she directed at Su Chen, there was a bit more fanaticism.
This was a golden thigh to cling to!
"Junior Su! No, Boss Su, Master Su!"
Song Xin grabbed Su Chen's sleeve, "In the future, in the academy, whenever you need to buy intelligence or need someone to run errands, call me anytime! I'm on call 24 hours a day! At your beck and call! I just need... a tiny little bit of credits."
"Alright, let go."
Su Chen pulled his sleeve out, looking speechless.
She was the top student of the Assassin Academy, where was her dignity?
"I'll handle the Heaven-Grade Dormitory myself. See you tomorrow morning at the Teleportation Array Square."
"Alright! Take care, Boss Su!"
Song Xin stood where she was, standing straight, even giving a salute.
The Heaven-Grade Dormitory area was located on the highest level of the floating island.
The concentration of magic power here was outrageously high, visibly turning into a faint white mist that flowed slowly over the stone paved roads.
With every breath, one could feel the faint magic power nourishing the lungs and internal organs.
The processing office was equally deserted; one couldn't see a single soul for a long time.
The person in charge of reception was a girl wearing an academy uniform, who was boredly filing her nails with a small file.
Su Chen walked up and placed the black student card he had just processed onto the marble countertop.
"Hello, I'm here to check in."
The girl didn't even look up, frowned and asked: "Junior, this is the Heaven-Grade area, with a minimum rental of one month, costing 150,000 credits. Are you sure you didn't go to the wrong place? Earth-Grade and Human-Grade are downstairs."
"Swipe the card."
Su Chen couldn't be bothered with nonsense, only spitting out two words.
"Wasting time."
The girl snorted coldly, assuming Su Chen was just messing with her.
A freshman having a few thousand credits would be incredible.
And he wants to live in a Heaven-Grade Dormitory?
Why don't you go to heaven?
She reluctantly picked up the card and swiped it on the instrument flashing with blue light nearby.
[Beep—]
[Current account balance: 33,053,900]
The girl's hand shook, and the nail file fell directly to the ground.
She stared fixedly at that long string of numbers on the light screen, her whole body frozen in place as if struck by lightning.
The look in her eyes as she looked at Su Chen changed completely.
My world is turned upside down!
What happened to the promise that Sky Dome Academyrelies on strength and has no nepotism?
Thirty-three million?!
Is this the amount of credits a human can obtain?
If he's not a connection-hire, I'll eat it!
[Deduction successful: -150,000 credits]
"Number 081, third row, eighth building."
The girl took a deep breath, a hint of fawning on her face: "Junior, here is your key. If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime. I have plenty of free time..."
"Alright."
Su Chen ignored her hints, took the key, and turned to leave.
Passing through the processing office, there was a scattering of well-arranged floating islands.
Each Heaven-Grade villa occupied an independent small floating island.
The islands were connected by semi-transparent magic bridges.
The villa's exterior walls were built from a type of pure white magic stone, and the roof was inscribed with complex Spirit Gathering Array patterns, emitting a soft halo of light.
The courtyard was planted with low-level herbs rarely seen in the outside world, and there was even a small artificial waterfall flowing.
Su Chen followed the house numbers and arrived outside Villa 081.
This was a three-story small Western-style building, its facade covered in glowing vines.
The front door was made of heavy black iron wood, with defensive runes carved onto it.
Su Chen pushed open the door.
"Boom—"
A surge of extremely pure magic elements rushed toward him, so thick it was almost turning into water droplets.
Su Chen walked into the first-floor hall.
The interior space was enormous.
The living room was covered with a soft Magical Beast skin rug, and in the center was a set of huge leather sofas.
On the walls hung magic lamps that automatically adjusted their brightness.
Passing through the living room was a spacious lounge, which contained a temperature-controlled bath.
The basement was a practice room, with inscriptions for absorbing energy carved on the walls, and several mechanical wooden stakes emitting a metallic luster stood there, clearly used for testing skill damage.
Following the spiral staircase up to the second floor, outside the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the rolling sea of clouds and an aerial view of the entire academy.
Just as Su Chen stepped into the bedroom, a row of green System prompts popped up in the top right corner of his vision.
[Prompt: Restore 1% of maximum HP and Mana per minute.]
[Prompt: Automatically purify all negative status effects.]
[Prompt: Gain 10,000 experience points per hour.]
"Hiss—!"
Su Chen gasped.
No wonder Song Xin said the Heaven-Grade Dormitory was amazing.
This room came with a healing effect, restoring by percentage every minute, which was equivalent to drinking top-tier blue potions and red potions at all times.
No matter how severe the injury, it would be fully restored in 100 minutes.
Besides that, it gave 10,000 experience points for free every hour.
If he stayed in the dormitory all day AFK, that would be 240,000 experience points a day.
This leveling speed, as Song Xin said, was indeed much faster than bitterly searching for those ordinary small mobs in the wild to grind, and it was without any danger.
"From the first day of enrollment, the gap has already been opened."
Su Chen looked at the slowly growing experience bar and couldn't help but sigh.
This really is becoming stronger while lying down.
He took a quick shower and didn't wander around anymore.
The Abyss Dungeon was too dangerous; he prepared to rest up and fully prepare for battle.
"I wonder what I will encounter in tomorrow's Abyss Dungeon, and whether I can collect the four-piece set?"
Lying on the bed, Su Chen felt some anticipation in his heart.
What kind of effect would the Abyss four-piece set have?
Chapter 72: The Appearance of a Fool, Education Does Not Equal Intelligence
The next morning.
Su Chen woke up in the large bed of his Heaven-grade dormitory, glanced at the [Experience + 80000] notification that automatically popped up on his panel, and stretched contentedly.
After a quick bite to eat, he pushed the door open and stepped out of the dormitory.
He walked all the way to the meeting point agreed upon with Song Xin: the Teleportation Plaza.
The plaza was already crowded in the early morning, mostly with senior students forming parties to enter dungeons.
Su Chen spotted Song Xin from afar; her dark gray tight-fitting leather armor made her very conspicuous in the crowd.
Standing next to Song Xin was the Level 25 Holy LightKnight he had met yesterday, Lu Qingyan.
Besides the two of them, there were one man and one woman.
The man was wearing a form-fitting battle armor that shimmered with dark gold light, and a longsword emitting a deep blue Magical Energy aura hung at his waist.
[Chen Feng]
[Level: 24]
[Class: Magic Swordsman]
The woman was dressed in a pure white priest's robe, holding a staff embedded with a holy crystal.
[Lin Wei]
[Level: 23]
[Class: Lin Wei]
...
All of them were Hidden Classes.
There really are no mediocre people who can get into Sky Dome Academy.
Su Chen slowly walked forward.
"Boss Su, you finally arrived!"
Song Xin immediately came over to greet him and pointed at the person beside her, "Let me introduce everyone formally. This is our team leader, Lu Qingyan, whom you met yesterday."
Lu Qingyan smiled slightly at Su Chen, "Junior Brother Su, good morning. I heard from Song Xin that you are a very promising newcomer."
"This is Chen Feng, our main DPS."
Song Xin pointed at the Magic Swordsman.
"This is Lin Wei, our main healer."
She pointed at the priest again.
Su Chen nodded.
Two DPS, one main tank, one assassin, and one healer—this was a very balanced team composition.
Chen Feng looked Su Chen up and down, his gaze lingering on Su Chen's burst staff for a moment.
His brows knitted together into a frown.
"Song Xin, the powerful external support the school mentioned is him?"
Chen Feng's voice was loud, causing several nearby teams to turn and look, "A freshman who just enrolled? And he's holding a piece of trash Black Iron-grade weapon?"
He turned to look at Lu Qingyan, his tone full of irritation, "Senior Sister Lu, what kind of joke is this? This is an Abyss Dungeon! We had already decided to let my girlfriend, Zhao Xiaoyue, join the group. She's a Level 24 Ice Mage! You kicked her out at the last minute just to shove in this nepotistic freshman?"
The more he spoke, the angrier he got, and he pointed his finger directly at Su Chen.
"Kid, I don't care what means you used to take Xiaoyue's spot, the Abyss Dungeon is not a place for a naive rookie like you to come and get gilded. Get lost and go back to your Novice Dungeon to kill Goblins!"
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Song Xin's expression darkened, and she stepped forward to block Su Chen, "Chen Feng, watch your mouth. This person was directly assigned by the Academic Affairs Office. If you have an opinion, go report it to the school."
Su Chen was speechless.
The illusion is shattered.
As expected, idiots are everywhere.
Just because someone is highly educated doesn't mean they aren't an idiot.
Su Chen looked at the finger Chen Feng was about to poke into his face. He didn't get angry; instead, he revealed a very sincere smile.
"Don't be so worked up. Actually, I didn't really want to come either, since the Abyss Dungeon is so dangerous. How about this: you go call your girlfriend over right now, and as long as Senior Sister Lu nods, I'll withdraw from the team immediately."
He paused and said quietly, "But you'd better be quick; the opening time for an Abyss Dungeon is time-limited. If the expedition fails because we were waiting for someone, will... you take the blame for that?"
Chen Feng was choked up, his face turning alternating shades of green and white.
Would he dare take that blame?
The strategy for the Abyss Dungeon concerned the safety of hundreds of thousands of people. It was a race against time, and who knew how many people had already sacrificed themselves.
Once the time was missed, school disciplinary action would be unavoidable, and being held criminally liable was a certainty.
"Stop with your damn Yin and Yang sarcasm!"
Chen Feng gritted his teeth, his hand pressing onto the hilt of his sword, and the deep blue light on his Chen Fengweapon flashed violently.
"That's enough, Chen Feng."
Lu Qingyan spoke softly. She took a step forward and slammed a tower shield engraved with complex runes heavily onto the ground.
"Thud!"
With a muffled sound, the surrounding ground trembled slightly.
"The personnel list was reported to the Academic Affairs Office, and it cannot be changed."
Lu Qingyan looked at Chen Feng, "Since we are in the same team, we follow the rules. The Abyss Dungeonrequires absolute cooperation, and I do not want to see infighting within the team before we even go in."
She turned to look at Su Chen and instructed, "Junior Brother Su, the Abyss Dungeon is very dangerous. After we enter, try your best to stay close to me and Lin Wei. If we encounter any unexpected situations, I will immediately activate my skills to draw aggro; you just focus on protecting yourself."
Su Chen nodded without speaking.
"It's about time. Let's go."
Lu Qingyan put away her tower shield and turned to walk toward the dock.
Chen Feng glared fiercely at Su Chen, snorted coldly, and followed her.
...
Sky Dome Academy was very far from Gaofeng City, requiring the use of the academy's specialized Magical Energy airship to travel there.
Inside the airship's cabin, the mechanical engine hummed with a low roar, and the atmosphere was somewhat stifling.
Lu Qingyan opened a virtual map and projected it onto the metal table in the center.
"While we aren't there yet, let everyone reveal their cards. The Abyss Dungeon is not a game; I need to know everyone's limit stats and life-saving methods."
She pointed at a constantly flashing red skull icon on the map.
"This Abyss in Gaofeng City is codenamed 'Eye of the Poison Swamp'. According to the military's preliminary reconnaissance, it is full of poisonous monsters polluted by the Abyss aura, which come with high-level Poisondefense reduction effects and a continuous health-draining mechanism."
"Chen Feng, as our main DPS, where is your output frequency and burst threshold?"
Chen Feng patted his breastplate and said proudly, "My [Magic Shadow Combo Slash] has extremely high damage. Combined with the armor-piercing affix of my dark gold-grade weapon, I can deal over 10,000 mixed damage within five seconds. As long as you can hold the aggro, I guarantee I'll clear the field like cutting vegetables."
"Lin Wei?"
"My [Holy Purification] can remove Poison status from the group, and [Holy Light Surge] can raise the main tank's health by 30% within two seconds."
Lin Wei said softly.
Lu Qingyan nodded and looked at Song Xin.
"I am responsible for scouting the path and avoiding traps. With [Shadow Stealth] and [Substitute Straw Doll], I have no problem surviving." Song Xin answered briefly.
Finally, everyone's gaze fell on Su Chen.
Chen Feng sneered, crossing his arms and leaning against the cabin wall, "Senior Sister Lu, what do you expect a freshman to do? Go in and help us pick up gold coins?"
Su Chen leaned back in his chair, looking at the PoisonSwamp terrain on the light screen.
Poison Swamp?
Defense reduction?
Seems a bit disgusting.
"Me?"
Su Chen raised his head and said casually, "Me? I mainly deal DOT damage. I rely on applying negative status effects to deal damage."
"DOT? Damage over time?"
Chen Feng laughed out loud as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
"Holy crap, are you kidding me? The elite monsters in an Abyss Dungeon have health bars starting at 100,000, do you know that? Dealing DOT? By the time you grind the monster to death, our whole team's bones will have turned to dust!"
He turned to look at Lu Qingyan, "Senior Sister Lu, you heard him, right? This kid is just here to leech experience! The Abyss Dungeon requires rapid advancement; someone who deals damage over time won't even be scratching the surface!"
Lu Qingyan frowned slightly.
Classes that deal DOT are indeed at a disadvantage in the early stages because the damage ticks too slowly, which can easily cause the front line to fail under pressure.
"It doesn't matter. Junior Brother Su, when the time comes, just stay behind me and don't pull monsters randomly. If you encounter danger, I will protect you."
Su Chen didn't respond, just shrugged indifferently.
Protect me?
By then, who knows who will be protecting whom!
Chapter 73: Continuous Cringe, Either It's You or Me!
Three hours later, the flyer's notification sound rang out.
[Notification: Destination reached, preparing to land.]
"Prepare for docking, everyone check your equipment and items."
Lu Qingyan stood up, and with a flash of light in her hand, her heavy tower shield appeared once again.
The cabin door opened, and a gust of wind mixed with the stench of rot and blood blew in.
Below was a ruin already surrounded by a temporary camp and towering metal defensive walls.
Countless fully armed military class-holders were busy setting up various instruments and weapons.
The sky was filled with a sickly green mist.
Several officers in military uniforms hurried up to meet them.
"The elite squad from Sky Dome Academy? This way, please; the passage has already been cleared for you."
The lead officer quickly checked Lu Qingyan's ID card, his expression grave: "The situation is dire; the toxic gas is spreading toward the perimeter. The purification array at the front line won't last much longer. You only have four hours to defeat the BOSS and close the Abyss Dungeonpassage."
The officer led them through layers of defensive lines to a massive black light gate.
The space around the light gate was violently distorted, with sickly green venom dripping from the frame from time to time, making a "hiss, hiss" sound as it landed on the ground and corroded deep holes.
Su Chen used Scouting Spell on the dungeon portal.
[Eye of the Poison Swamp]
[Dungeon Grade: Difficult]
[Dungeon Level: 20-25]
[Dungeon Capacity: Up to 5 people]
[Dungeon Time: Clear within 4 hours]
[Special Mechanism: This dungeon has been corrupted into an Abyss Dungeon, internal conditions are extremely unstable]
...
A level 20-25 Difficult-grade dungeon, limited to a 4-hour clear time.
Lin Wei raised her staff and cast a shield emitting a soft white light on herself and her teammates.
A new status appeared in Su Chen's status bar.
[Shield of Light: Gain 2850 points of Light-attribute shield, lasting for 10 minutes.]
A shield that can absorb 2850 points and lasts for 10 minutes.
The value is quite high; an average level 20 priest would only heal for a few hundred points.
Truly worthy of being an elite from Sky Dome Academy.
Of course.
Compared to the shield provided by Su Chen's Abyss Dragon-tongue Robe, it was nothing.
"Enter."
Lu Qingyan didn't waste words, holding her tower shield in front of her as she was the first to step into the portal.
Chen Feng followed closely, pulling out his magic sword, and didn't forget to glance coldly at Su Chen before entering.
Su Chen followed behind Song Xin, and the moment he passed through the black light gate, an intensely nauseating stench of rot rushed toward him.
As far as the eye could see, it was a dark green swamp.
There was no sun in the sky, only thick, lead-gray toxic clouds, with dark green acid rain falling from time to time, splashing into the mud and creating holes that emitted white smoke.
[Notification: You have entered the Difficult-grade dungeon Eye of the Poison Swamp (Abyss Dungeon)!]
[Warning: The current dungeon has been corrupted into an Abyss Dungeon, monster attributes are significantly increased, aggro range expanded by 300%, please ensure your safety!]
[Warning: Affected by "Swamp Miasma," losing 5 HP per second.]
"Cough, cough..."
Lin Wei couldn't help but cough twice as soon as she entered, her face turning a bit pale.
"Hiss, hiss—!"
They had just arrived, and the shields on everyone were already hissing.
Each Abyss Dungeon has different debuffs; in this one, besides the increased monster attributes, they also lost 5 HP per second.
If they hadn't brought a healer, someone coming in alone would have to chug potions.
"Everyone watch your step; the mud here has a slowing effect. Maintain formation. Chen Feng and I will take the front row, Song Xin, watch out for traps, and Su Chen, you and Lin Wei stay in the back row."
Lu Qingyan decisively arranged the tactics.
However.
Chen Feng didn't follow immediately.
He pulled the magic sword from his back, its blade flickering with dark purple magical light.
But he didn't look at the mist ahead; instead, he turned his head and stared fixedly at Su Chen, who was walking at the back.
"Senior Sister Lu, you've seen it too."
Chen Feng's voice sounded particularly harsh in the vast swamp, "We just got in, and the monsters already have all attributes increased, plus we have a continuous HP drain. This is the intensity of an Abyss Dungeon!"
He pointed at Su Chen and sneered: "The four of us are risking our lives up front, and we still have to drag along this dead weight? What can he do in this high-pressure environment with his DOT build? By the time his poison ticks a monster to death, the priest's mana will have long been exhausted!"
Song Xin frowned: "Chen Feng, what do you mean? Didn't we agree on this before coming in?"
"Before coming in is before coming in!"
Magic Swordsman sneered, "The danger level of this place is higher than I imagined. I don't want to lose my life because of some trash who used connections to get here!"
He turned his head to look at Lu Qingyan, his tone becoming tough.
"Senior Sister Lu, I am a Chen Feng, one of the core damage dealers in the team."
"Anyway, today it's either him or me! Either you kick him out of the team, or I quit the team right now!"
"..."
Magic Swordsman held his head high, wearing an expression that assumed he had Lu Qingyan cornered.
He knew very well what losing a high-burst Magic Swordsman meant in this Abyss Dungeon.
Even if Lu Qingyan protected the freshmen, she couldn't possibly joke with the whole team's lives.
Lin Wei bit her lip, looking at Lu Qingyan with some difficulty.
Song Xin's hand pressed onto her dagger again.
Su Chen stood in the mud, watching Magic Swordsman's face, not even feeling a ripple in his heart.
Classic.
Too classic.
Has this idiot been reading too many rotten tomato novels?
Does he really think he has a Plot Armor?
A level 24 Magic Swordsman—where does he get the confidence to act like a big shot in an Abyss Dungeon?
Su Chen didn't speak, just quietly watched Lu Qingyan, wanting to see how this senior would handle it.
Just as Lu Qingyan was about to speak—
"Hiss, hiss..."
A very faint sound came from the mud beneath their feet.
Following that, two massive black shadows erupted from the mud without warning, pouncing toward them with a foul wind!
[Poison Swamp Giant Crocodile]
[Level: 25]
[Strength: 480]
[Agility: 350]
[Stamina: 800]
[Spirit: 340]
[Skills: Death Roll, Venom Spit]
...
Just common mobs, and they have up to 800 Stamina!
A Difficult-grade Abyss Dungeon has higher monster attributes than the Nightmare-grade Secret Realm Su Chen cleared a few days ago.
"Watch out!"
Lu Qingyan's expression changed drastically. The tower shield in her hand suddenly burst with blinding light as she tried to cast a skill.
But the giant crocodiles were too fast, and the distance was too close; they were aiming for a one-hit kill!
One of them opened its bloody mouth full of barbs, rushing toward Lin Wei.
The other lunged fiercely at Chen Feng, swinging its spiky tail with a shrill whistling sound as it smashed over.
At this critical moment.
Su Chen just casually raised the staff in his hand.
Whoosh!
A dim magic missile shot out, accurately hitting the giant crocodile lunging at Lin Wei.
"5536!"
A four-digit damage number floated above the giant crocodile's head.
For a level 25 monster with 800 Stamina, this damage, while not low, was not fatal.
In the blink of an eye.
Everyone was startled by this damage.
Just one basic attack... and it dealt over five thousand damage?!
This was higher than some junior students at the Battle Academy.
Chen Feng caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye, his pupils shrinking, but he had no time to say anything.
Because the tail of the giant crocodile in front of him had already smashed into his face.
"Holy sh*t!"
Chen Feng was shocked, hurriedly raising his magic sword to block.
Bang!
"-1540!"
Chen Feng was sent flying seven or eight meters back, landing heavily in the mud.
The shield on his body instantly dropped by a huge chunk.
And in the same second that Chen Feng was sent flying.
The giant crocodile that had been hit by Su Chen's basic attack suddenly stiffened in mid-air.
Eerie dark green poison patterns instantly crawled all over its body.
"-119688206!"
A blindingly huge damage number exploded!
There was no scream.
The big crocodile, which had been ferocious a second ago, instantly turned into dark green pus and melted into the swamp.
[Notification: Killed level 25 Poison Swamp Giant Crocodile, obtained EXP: 500.]
The whole process took less than two seconds.
The swamp instantly became so quiet that only the sound of dripping pus remained.
Lu Qingyan's giant shield was still raised in the air, maintaining the posture of preparing to cast a taunt.
The light of Lin Wei's healing spell was still flickering at the tip of her staff.
Song Xin's dagger was only half-drawn.
The three of them stared blankly at the four pools of bubbling pus on the ground, their brains completely frozen.
What happened?
That number... was that the damage number Su Chendealt?
Chapter 74: Thinking You Can Just Pretend Nothing Happened? Full Team Vote!
Inside the Abyss Dungeon, everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost.
A level 25 Abyss Dungeon monster with 800 stamina, just like that... gone?
In one second?
"One, ten, hundred, thousand... one hundred million?!" Lin Wei's voice trembled, and her eyes were about to pop out of her head.
Even Song Xin was dazed for a moment: "Holy crap, I knew you were a freak, but I didn't know you were *this* much of a freak..."
Lu Qingyan took a deep breath, and the look in her eyes as she gazed at Su Chen changed completely.
Over one hundred million in damage!
Never mind a level 25 mob, even a level 30 BOSS couldn't withstand such monstrous damage!
Although she didn't know the specific mechanics of Su Chen's damage, being able to deal such explosive damage already proved his extraordinary nature.
"Roar!"
On the other side.
The situation was a bit different.
The giant crocodile that hadn't been taken care of by Su Chen launched another attack on Chen Feng.
"Help... help me! Senior Sister Lu! Taunt it!! Lin Wei, heal me! Heal me, quick!"
Chen Feng scrambled up from the mud, dodging the giant crocodile's bites in a disheveled state.
He swung the magic sword in his hand wildly.
Sword Qi formed from magic surged out, landing on the giant crocodile's body and sparking off bursts of fire.
"-1450"
"-1206"
"..."
Chen Feng was indeed a prodigy of Sky Dome Academy; his attacks struck the giant crocodile's thick scales, and the damage was quite respectable.
However.
Just one touch from the giant crocodile caused him to lose thousands of HP as well.
Lin Wei subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to heal him.
"Don't move."
Su Chen spoke suddenly; his voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
Lin Wei's hand paused.
Su Chen slowly sat down on a clean rock.
Watching Chen Feng scurrying around in panic while being chased by the giant crocodile, a cold sneer curled the corner of his lips.
"Didn't he just say he was very powerful? He wouldn't be unable to beat even one mob in the Abyss Dungeon, right?"
"As the main carry, why don't you solo this mob? I, this trash who only does DOT, will just watch from here."
"..."
Hearing this.
Song Xin giggled: "Yeah, Chen Feng, Boss Su killed the mob in one second. Since you're the output core, how long will it take you?"
Lin Wei hesitated, looking at Lu Qingyan.
Chen Feng was forced into a dead end in the mud pit by the giant crocodile, and hearing Su Chen's words, he was so angry he nearly vomited blood.
"You fucking did this on purpose! You clearly could have killed it just now!"
Chen Feng roared hoarsely, "Senior Sister Lu! Are you just going to watch him mess with a teammate like this?!"
Lu Qingyan put away her tower shield, looking at Chen Feng with a calm gaze.
Even though she had a gentle personality, she had been provoked into anger by Chen Feng now.
"Su Chen is right."
Lu Qingyan's voice remained soft, but it carried a chill, "Since you think he's a burden, then prove your value as the main carry."
"Lin Wei, you are not allowed to heal him."
"Lu Qingyan! Have you gone crazy?!"
Chen Feng roared in terror.
But no one paid him any mind.
For a full minute.
Chen Feng scrambled and rolled in the mud pit, using all his trump cards and chugging three bottles of high-grade health potions before he finally managed to grind the giant crocodile to death.
When the giant crocodile fell, Chen Feng was nothing but a mud man.
A huge gash was torn into the heavy armor on his chest, blood flowed like a river, and his stamina was almost completely exhausted.
"Huff... huff..."
Chen Feng leaned against the giant crocodile's corpse, panting violently, his eyes staring fixedly at Su Chen as if he wanted to eat him alive.
"Kid, I've remembered you."
He sneered and said: "Alright, can we continue now?"
"..."
Su Chen: "???"
This completely baffled Su Chen.
No.
What did he mean, continue?
After talking trash and getting his face slapped, he's just going to pretend nothing happened? His skin is really thick.
You want to kick people when you want, and stop when you don't? Is there such a good deal?
"Senior Chen Feng, you were the one who said it just now."
"If there's you, there's no me; if there's me, there's no you."
"You wouldn't be so forgetful, would you?"
Su Chen's voice echoed in the desolate swamp.
"Since everyone has seen Senior Chen Feng's 'astonishing' strength, let's take a vote."
He looked at Lu Qingyan: "The Abyss Dungeon is full of dangers; there cannot be unstable factors in the team. I propose we kick Chen Feng out of the team."
"Agreed, agreed!"
Song Xin raised her hand first.
She had long since found Chen Feng unpleasant.
Moreover, after the damage Su Chen had just displayed, anyone who wasn't blind knew whose leg they should be hugging.
Lu Qingyan's expression was uncertain.
She hadn't expected that Su Chen, who looked lazy and easygoing, was actually someone who wouldn't take a loss lying down.
Along the way, facing Chen Feng's aggressiveness, he hadn't fought back.
It turned out he was waiting for the right opportunity.
Su Chen's meaning was very clear.
He was forcing her to choose one of the two.
She looked at Chen Feng, then at Su Chen, and sighed.
The Abyss Dungeon was already dangerous; for four people to clear it was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Finally, she calmly spat out two words: "Agreed."
"I... I also agree."
Lin Wei, who completely followed Lu Qingyan's lead, weakly raised her hand.
Unanimous vote.
Now.
Chen Feng was completely stunned.
He had originally intended to use the situation to force Su Chen out, establish his own core status, and incidentally vent some anger for his girlfriend.
But now, the clown turned out to be himself.
"You... you will regret this!"
Chen Feng pointed furiously at Lu Qingyan, "You want to clear the Abyss Dungeon with four people? Without me, you will never be able to beat the final BOSS! Just wait here to die!"
After saying this.
Chen Feng fled the teleportation gate in a sorry state.
A white light flashed, and his figure disappeared from the Abyss Dungeon.
"The annoying person is gone, the world is quiet now."
Su Chen stretched, lifted his staff, and walked forward, "Let's go, Senior Sisters."
Lu Qingyan, however, was not as relaxed as him.
Her expression was solemn as she said: "Junior Brother Su, don't be impulsive. We are missing a person, we need to be more careful."
Su Chen shrugged and continued to advance with the group in formation.
But next.
The group began to doubt life itself.
Along the way, they encountered other monsters in the Abyss Dungeon.
A level 26 [Poison Slime].
A level 27 [Corrupt Treant].
A level 28 [Swamp Dragon].
...
But regardless of the rank or attributes.
As long as it entered Su Chen's line of sight.
Swish!
Basic attack.
Then.
Ink-green Poison markings instantly crawled all over the monster's body.
"-119695132"
"-119702058"
"-119708984"
"..."
Terrifying damage numbers rose above the monsters' heads.
One-shot.
All one-shot.
They didn't even leave behind the monsters' corpses, turning them directly into pools of pus on the ground.
They didn't even have a chance to attack.
The only thing they could do was listen to the Systemnotification sounds popping up frantically in their ears.
[Successfully killed level 27 Poison Slime, EXP + 630]
[Successfully killed level 28 Corrupt Treant, EXP + 640]
After kicking Chen Feng out, it became 4 people splitting the EXP, so the EXP value was a bit higher.
"Is... is this what he called... a DOT player?"
Lin Wei swallowed her saliva, her voice floating.
Lu Qingyan was equally dazed.
She had thought that the one hundred million damage Su Chen dealt just now must have been to establish his authority, using some kind of burst skill.
But now it seemed... this was clearly just Su Chen's regular damage!
Song Xin gave a wry smile: "I don't know."
She was from the Assassin Academy and had naturally seen many Grandmasters who used Poison.
But... over one hundred million DOT damage in one second?!
Is this even human?
Chapter 75: First Team Coordination, Astonishing Performance
The team was advancing very quickly.
The expressions of the girls were already somewhat dazed.
Whenever a monster popped its head out, it would be hit by a single basic attack from Su Chen.
Then, it would turn into a puddle of pus.
Half an hour later, the team had advanced into the heart of the dungeon.
The fog ahead became increasingly thick, and the sickly green miasma almost condensed into water droplets.
The shields of the group were hissing as they were corroded.
"Stop."
Song Xin, who was walking at the very front, suddenly raised her hand, and her figure instantly vanished into a mass of shadows.
A few seconds later, she reappeared from behind a withered giant tree, her expression looking rather grim.
"There's no path ahead."
Song Xin lowered her voice and pointed to an open, muddy area ahead. "It's a stretch of large-scale Poison swamps; we can't go around it. The swamp is filled with monsters, dense and packed together. A rough estimate suggests there are hundreds of them."
Lin Wei was so scared that she shrank back behind Lu Qingyan.
Hundreds of Level 25+ Abyss monsters bunched together.
If this were outside, it would absolutely be a small-scale monster siege.
Even a full five-person elite squad would have to carefully lure them out one by one to fight. If they were even slightly careless and got surrounded, it would mean a total wipe.
Lu Qingyan's expression was grave as she gripped the tower shield in her hands.
"There are too many of them. If we get surrounded by them, I can only hold out for three minutes at most."
She turned to look at Su Chen; imperceptibly, she had already come to regard Su Chen as the absolute tactical core.
The single-target one-shot capability Su Chen had just displayed had completely established his status as the true carry of the team.
"Junior Brother Su, your damage is indeed ridiculously high. But these monsters are lurking beneath the swamp, and their aggro is linked. Once you attack one of them, the others will instantly riot and swarm up."
Lu Qingyan quickly laid out the tactics: "Here is the plan: I will go first. My taunt skill has a very large range; I can force them all out of the swamp and gather them together."
"When they surround me, you take the opportunity to deal damage."
"Lin Wei, keep your eyes locked on my health bar. When you can't heal me, I will activate my life-saving skill."
Lin Wei clutched her staff nervously and nodded repeatedly.
Su Chen's estimation of Lu Qingyan rose by another notch in his heart.
She really is the type to step up when things happen.
"No."
He thought about it for a moment and directly vetoed Lu Qingyan's tactic.
Lu Qingyan was stunned for a moment.
She thought Su Chen was worried that she couldn't hold on: "It's fine, I'm very tanky and can save my own life..."
"It's not a question of whether you can hold on."
Su Chen shook his head and said, "It's that once I make a move, I'll kill you along with them."
"Huh?"
Lu Qingyan looked somewhat bewildered.
Su Chen patiently explained: "My burst staff has a modifier; whenever a monster dies, it will splash damage to the surrounding area. All creatures within two meters will be hit with a DOT. This doesn't distinguish between friend and foe."
"The monsters hit by the splash damage will die and then continue to splash, meaning... a chain explosion. One hundred million points of true damage—are you sure you can withstand that?"
"..."
True damage.
No distinction between friend and foe.
Chain explosion.
The group felt their scalps tingle upon hearing this.
What kind of hellish mechanic is this?!
"Then... what should we do?"
Lin Wei's voice trembled, "If we don't taunt and gather the monsters, they'll be scattered in the swamp, and it will be hard to clear them all at once."
"I'll do it!"
Just as Su Chen was preparing to use the Snake Guard to push through, Song Xin suddenly raised her hand.
Her eyes were shining as she said, "Lu Qingyan will go and gather the monsters. The moment they all surround her, I will use [Shadow Swap] to bring Lu Qingyan out directly! I'll leave my substitute straw doll inside to take the damage, and you can just attack the straw doll along with them!"
Song Xin's grasp of timing was extremely precise, and she immediately thought of a cooperative plan.
Her [Shadow Swap] was similar to a mage's blink skill, with the effect of swapping positions with a target in the vicinity.
Ordinary assassins couldn't bring others with them, but since Song Xin was a hidden class, it was clearly different.
"That works. Move quickly; my basic attacks are very fast."
Su Chen nodded.
In truth, it was only a few hundred monsters; he could just handle them with the Snake Guard.
But he also wanted to test how he should operate within a team dynamic.
"Leave it to me!"
Lu Qingyan took a deep breath, and a layer of blinding Holy Light lit up on her body.
Without hesitation, she raised her tower shield and charged into the muddy swamp.
"Boom!"
The tower shield slammed heavily into the mud.
"[Holy Shield Taunt]!"
A circle of golden ripples centered on Lu Qingyan spread frantically in all directions.
The originally calm swamp instantly boiled.
"Roar—!"
"Croak—!"
The mud exploded.
Huge Abyss Poison crocodiles and bloated, pustule-covered corrupt giant frogs broke through the water surface, staring at the central Lu Qingyan with scarlet eyes.
Aggro was instantly maxed out!
Hundreds of elite monsters surged toward Lu Qingyan like a black tide.
The scene was extremely oppressive.
In just a few seconds.
The monster swarm had already surrounded her completely.
Sharp fangs and tongues dripping with Poison were almost touching her tower shield.
"Now!"
Lu Qingyan shouted.
"Swish!"
A dark shadow flashed behind Lu Qingyan.
Song Xin's figure appeared out of thin air and grabbed Lu Qingyan by the shoulder.
[Shadow Swap]!
A flash of light.
Lu Qingyan and Song Xin instantly appeared in a safe zone thirty meters away.
In their place, only a black substitute doll wearing a straw hat remained.
The doll also had a short-duration taunt effect.
The monsters immediately poured their rage onto the doll.
Just as the doll was about to be torn to shreds.
Su Chen raised his hand.
He didn't cast a skill; he lightly sent a basic attack over.
"Shoo—"
The basic attack slammed into the thick scales of a Poisoncrocodile.
The Poison crocodile seemed to be in some pain, but it did not die.
But the next second.
The massive Poison crocodile's body surface was instantly covered in dense, ink-green Poison patterns.
It didn't even have time to let out a scream.
"-119833652"
A terrifying number floated above its head.
Its health bar was instantly wiped out.
Immediately after.
"Bang!"
A faint flash of fire instantly exploded!
Ink-green Poison and a terrifying shockwave swept out in an exaggerated radius.
The second, third, fourth monsters hit by the splash...
As long as they were touched by a bit of the Poison, the same hundred-million-plus damage floated above their heads.
Then.
Immediately following was the second round of explosions!
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—!!!"
Chain explosions!
Green Poison mist shot into the sky, and mud was blasted into mid-air.
Su Chen stood at the edge of the explosion, taking two steps back with a look of distaste, afraid that mud splatters would get on his clothes.
The sound of explosions lasted for a full four seconds before subsiding.
When the smoke and dust cleared.
The massive swamp ahead became deathly quiet.
The hundreds of Abyss elite monsters that were originally dense and packed together.
Were all gone.
Not even a complete scale was left; they had all been blasted into ink-green pus.
The ground was covered in glittering loot and gold coins.
The System notification sound was frantically scrolling across the screen.
[Successfully killed Level 26 Abyss Poison crocodile, EXP +640]
[Successfully killed Level 27 corrupt giant frog, EXP +720]
[Successfully killed Level 26 Abyss Poison crocodile...]
...
One basic attack.
Cleared the screen.
The three girls behind were completely petrified at this moment.
Lu Qingyan was still holding the tower shield, maintaining a defensive posture, but her eyes were already fixed in a blank stare.
She looked at the ink-green pus all over the ground, her mind buzzing.
Those were hundreds of Abyss monsters!
Even if a 6th or 7th-turn Grand Mage came, they would still need to chant for a few seconds to cast a skill, right?
He didn't even cast a single skill, just used one basic attack?
And then the monsters were all cleared?
Song Xin swallowed a mouthful of saliva, her voice as dry as sandpaper rubbing together.
"Lu Qingyan... if you had been hit by the splash damage..."
Song Xin stared blankly at the loot all over the ground, "I'm afraid not even your bone fragments would be left!"
"It's a good thing it was Chen Feng who got kicked."
Lin Wei muttered to herself, "Otherwise, with hundreds of monsters, if we waited for him to hack them with a sword, it would have taken until the year of the monkey!"
Su Chen was also very satisfied.
This was his first time coordinating with others.
Previously with that girl Lin Shiqing doesn't count.
Now it seems the result is not bad.
"If a teammate has a taunt skill, the monsters will gather together, which can perfectly solve the weakness of the burst staff's small range."
"However, without Song Xin to bring the person out, it would Poison the taunter to death along with them; that would truly be sacrificing a teammate."
"..."
Su Chen smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Coordinating with him is not an easy task!