The Second Instance

Amid a mountain forest with babbling streams, three figures suddenly appeared out of thin air.

One was a young woman in sportswear, her face full of curiosity. She held a silvery-white pistol and wore an ill-matched steel helmet, looking as though an anime gunfight girl had stepped into reality.

Another was a somewhat short middle-aged man. Though he was not tall, he wore a black cape and a gray hood, giving him an odd appearance that was both comical and severe.

The last person looked far more normal than the other two. He was a tall, handsome young man with neat short hair, dressed in silver gray Wolfhide Armor and holding a gleaming unsheathed saber. The moment he appeared, he calmly and meticulously surveyed his surroundings.

Instance objective: Kill a fierce tiger nearby in the forest (lv3).

The instant Wang Zhifan entered the instance, a translucent screen flashed before his eyes, informing him of the main mission for this instance.

He immediately began carefully observing the area around him. He quickly determined that no fierce tiger could be hiding within at least thirty meters of them, meaning their starting location was relatively safe.

While Wang Zhifan surveyed the surroundings, the other two also reacted.

The short, hooded middle-aged man in the cape subtly tugged at the cape behind him, wrapping it around his body. He quickly blended into the darkness among the trees. If Wang Zhifan had not noticed him earlier, he might have had trouble telling that someone was standing there now.

The sportswear-clad girl with the silvery-white pistol and steel helmet was probably the liveliest and most excited of the three. After glancing back and forth between Wang Zhifan and the short middle-aged man several times, she was the first to speak. "Hello, big brother, uncle! I'm a newbie player entering an instance for the first time. I hope we can..."

"Shh... Keep your voice down."

Before the girl, who was likely a gunslinger, could finish speaking, the hooded middle-aged man hidden in the forest darkness interrupted her. He reminded the player who claimed this was her first instance to lower her voice, lest she trigger something unexpected.

"Uh... Sorry, I was too excited just now."

The girl seemed to have a decent temperament. After being interrupted by the hooded middle-aged man, she immediately lowered her voice and apologized. She truly seemed to be entering an instance for the first time, or she would not have made such an obvious mistake. Fortunately, it did not appear to have caused any serious consequences so far.

"Ahem... Since you two are both young, and I'm more than ten years older than you with some instance experience, how about I serve as the leader for this instance?"

The hooded middle-aged man coughed twice, then lowered his voice as he spoke to the gunslinger girl and Wang Zhifan. He wanted to rely on his seniority to establish himself as the leader of this instance.

"No problem! I agree!"

The gunslinger girl was the first to agree. In her excitement, she nearly spoke too loudly again.

Wang Zhifan, on the other hand, was not so quick to agree. He was not the sort who liked to show off, but anyone who wanted to lead him had to earn his approval first.

"May I ask what level you are, sir? How many instances have you cleared?"

Wang Zhifan immediately asked him this question.

"I'm lv3. This is my seventh instance."

The hooded middle-aged man blended into the darkness immediately looked toward Wang Zhifan and answered calmly.

As he spoke, he deliberately displayed the player level marker above his head. It was indeed "lv3."

"Wow! Uncle, you're already Lv3? I'm only lv1!"

The gunslinger girl beside them was perhaps seeing an lv3 player for the first time, and the pitch of her voice began to slip out of control again.

"What about you, young man? Lv2?"

The hooded middle-aged man ignored the excited young girl and instead deliberately fixed his gaze on Wang Zhifan.

"I'm just a newbie, lv1."

Wang Zhifan immediately shook his head. In an instance, lying to teammates about one's strength was extremely unwise and could easily lead to serious consequences.

"Oh... Then just listen to me from now on."

The short middle-aged man wearing a hood and cape replied to Wang Zhifan.

Though he had blended into the darkness of the forest so completely that no one could see his expression, Wang Zhifan had the distinct feeling that this guy had been staring at him all along, as though he found him somewhat interesting.

"Little girl, you're a gunslinger, right? How many bullets did you bring? Is your Shooting skill lv2?"

The hooded middle-aged man then turned to the steel-helmeted girl in sportswear and began confirming some basic information.

"Yes, uncle. I'm a gunslinger. I have twelve bullets in total, and my Shooting skill is lv1."

The girl clearly trusted the highest-level teammate present and immediately answered honestly.

"What about you, young man? Are you a melee class?"

The hooded middle-aged man then turned to Wang Zhifan.

"Mm, I use a saber."

Wang Zhifan nodded, then asked the middle-aged man, "What about you, uncle? Are you an Assassin?"

Based on the middle-aged man's attire and the concealment ability he had displayed earlier, it was only natural for Wang Zhifan to make that guess.

But the middle-aged player seemed not to have heard Wang Zhifan's question at all. Rather than answer, he began muttering to himself in a slightly puzzled tone.

"This is a little strange... My teammates are a bit weak this time. Is the instance trying to make things harder for me?"

Since the hooded middle-aged man did not answer his question, Wang Zhifan did not press further. Still, the man's arrogant attitude made him somewhat displeased.

Considering that they were currently teammates, tied to the same rope, and restrained by the Punishment Instance mechanism, it was basically impossible for them to become enemies. Wang Zhifan decided to remain more low-key and practical. If he could rely on an experienced player to clear the instance, there was no need for him to exert himself too much.

"Alright, based on our current combat setup, I've made the following arrangements."

"Little girl, hurry and hide in those bushes over there. Be ready to shoot the tiger at any moment."

"Young man, stay nearby and keep your guard up for battle."

"I'll be responsible for finding that tiger and luring it over. When the time comes, young man, you'll draw its attention from the front. Little girl, find an opportunity to shoot it from concealment. I'll strike at the critical moment and kill it."

After pondering for a few seconds, the hooded middle-aged man issued orders to the other two like a commander.