Xia Yuwei's eyes widened in shock. Zhang Zibo, Zheng Yuan, and the other twenty-plus members of the team stood frozen as well.
Who was Lu Yang? He was first on the Level Rankings, the world's number-one expert at level 8. Compared to him, they had only just reached level 3. In front of Lu Yang, they were like children facing an adult.
In the early stages, level determined everything. If Lu Yang wanted to kill them, he could take on more than twenty people from their team by himself without any problem.
Because when they attacked Lu Yang under the system's rules, level 3 players attacking a level 8 player had a high chance of missing. But when Lu Yang killed them, an level 8 player killing level 3 players, it was practically one Fireball per person.
Thinking back to the times Zheng Yuan had offended Lu Yang, Xia Yuwei's face filled with concern. She stepped before Lu Yang, dipped her head slightly, and said, "Mr. Lu Yang, I'm truly sorry about what happened before. I hope you won't take it to heart."
The corner of Lu Yang's mouth curled upward. The Lord of Nine Cities from my previous life—the famous Rose Queen—is actually apologizing to me. What an honor.
"It's fine. I'm not that petty." Lu Yang shot Zheng Yuan a glance.
Only then did Xia Yuwei let out a sigh of relief. "That's great. Let's form the party, then."
"Sure."
Lu Yang activated twenty-person party mode and said to everyone, "I'll invite you one by one. When you join, tell me your class and stats."
He selected Xia Yuwei first.
"Berserker Warrior, level 3, 31 damage, 144 health," Xia Yuwei said. She had put all her points into Strength, but unfortunately, she had no good equipment. She was holding a level 1 weapon—a crude dagger.
Lu Yang selected Lan Yu second.
"Priest, level 3, 29 spell damage, 208 health," Lan Yu said. Priests allocated their points as three Magic and two Constitution. Combined with the Silver-grade staff Lu Yang had given her, her stats looked much better than Xia Yuwei's.
Lu Yang selected Zhang Zibo third.
"Defense Warrior, level 3, 73 defense, 352 health," Zhang Zibo said.
After inviting nineteen people, only the last one remained. Lu Yang looked at Zheng Yuan and asked, "Your stats?"
"Mage, level 3, 28 spell damage, 112 health," Zheng Yuan said with an unhappy expression.
Lu Yang invited Zheng Yuan into the party, then frowned. "Your stats aren't great. Warriors and thieves, go buy whetstones at the auction house. They add 5 physical damage. Mages, buy spell damage potions. They add 5 spell damage."
These were all products of beginner crafting skills. The auction house had plenty of them for sale, but they were rather expensive for players in the newbie phase.
One whetstone cost 10 copper coins, while one spell damage potion cost 20 copper coins. For the nineteen people in their party, that came to over 2 silver coins—essentially all of Xia Yuwei's savings.
"Do we really have to spend this money?" Xia Yuwei asked.
Lu Yang nodded. "You have to buy them, or you won't clear the dungeon."
"Fine. Go buy them." Xia Yuwei gritted her teeth and sent Zhang Zibo to the auction house.
As everyone waited, Zheng Yuan suddenly walked up to Lu Yang and asked, "You told us to buy them, so why aren't you buying any yourself?"
Everyone in the party looked curiously at Lu Yang. They all wanted to know why he was not going to buy them.
"You're not trying to make us buy them for you, are you, expert?" Zheng Yuan mocked.
Xiao Liang had already noticed Zheng Yuan targeting Lu Yang. He planted his greatshield in front of Zheng Yuan, shielding Lu Yang as he said, "My boss probably doesn't need them. If his spell damage gets any higher, I won't be able to hold the monsters."
"How is that possible?" Zheng Yuan refused to believe it.
Lan Yu asked curiously, "Expert, how much spell damage do you have?"
Lu Yang said, "137."
Everyone: "..."
The players in Xia Yuwei's team were already falling apart inside. Zheng Yuan was left speechless in particular. He had thought his 28 spell damage was impressive, but compared to Lu Yang's, they did not even amount to a fraction of his.
"How is your spell damage so high? It's four times ours," Lan Yu asked in astonishment.
Lu Yang said, "Because I'm an expert."
Lan Yu puffed out her cheeks, deeply dissatisfied with his answer. What she wanted to hear was how Lu Yang had killed those bosses and obtained his equipment, not such a simple reply.
Fierce Wine Clear Wind gave Lu Yang a thumbs-up. "As expected of an expert. Not one mage in our guild has even half your damage."
Lu Yang shrugged.
Just then, Zhang Zibo came running back. "I bought the potions and whetstones. Everyone, come get yours from me."
When Lan Yu and the others returned to Lu Yang, his expression turned serious.
"All right. From this moment on, our dungeon party is officially established. I'm your party leader, Lu Yang. Now, I have a few requirements," Lu Yang said.
Xia Yuwei, Zhang Zibo, and the other party members all looked at Lu Yang.
Lu Yang continued, "First, while I'm commanding, you must obey orders absolutely. Whatever I tell you to do, you must do it. If anyone refuses, settle the score with me after we kill the monsters. But during the fight, if anyone disobeys, don't blame me for kicking them from the party immediately."
Everyone nodded. The requirement was perfectly reasonable.
"Second, if the dungeon fails because of my command, I'll compensate each of you with one silver coin. If we clear it, then as I discussed with Xia Yuwei earlier, I get first pick of mage equipment, and the boss's final drop belongs to me. No objections?"
As Lu Yang spoke, his eagle-like gaze swept across every person present. He carried the bearing of a leader. Other than Xia Yuwei, no one dared meet his eyes.
"Don't worry, we'll honor our promise," Xia Yuwei said for everyone. Then she turned to Zhang Zibo and the others. "From now on, everything Lu Yang says represents what I say. Whoever refuses to comply or causes trouble will no longer have a place in our team."
Everyone in the party fell silent. Xia Yuwei's command was extremely stern to them. Zhang Zibo and the others were Xia Yuwei's classmates and knew that she always meant what she said. As for the hired players, they had worked hard to find such an easy, profitable job. Nobody wanted to smash their own rice bowl.
Only Zheng Yuan still wore an indignant expression. He was about to speak, but when he saw Xia Yuwei's sharp gaze, he swallowed the words back down.
Fierce Wine Clear Wind watched it all from the side and gave a cold laugh. "Don't worry, Expert. Once we enter the dungeon, I'll follow your command completely. If anything happens, I've got your back."
Fierce Wine Clear Wind's words carried a double meaning. He believed Lu Yang would understand. He had already reported the relationship between the Black Armored Warrior and Lu Yang to Dusk, and Dusk had ordered him to help Lu Yang with all his strength.
Lu Yang understood what Fierce Wine Clear Wind meant. He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, brother."
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