Twisted Hearts, an Impatient Chess Piece

The situation is clearly not right.

The one he encountered was probably not the same one the Blind Man encountered.

To ensure he could obtain real-time information about the instance and maintain contact with the outside world, he had been carrying the latest communication devices ever since he entered the instance.

This device can transmit what he sees and hears in a first-person perspective to the command center of the Legion Guild headquarters in real time.

Although this device offers no protection whatsoever, if properly concealed in a safe corner, it has a high chance of surviving a fierce battle.

The Legion Guild's analysis team had already prepared to record Qin Xiao's battle with the predicted behemoth in order to analyze strategies for clearing the level.

To everyone's surprise, the central figure depicted in the image was a completely unfamiliar leader who had never been recorded before!

"What's going on? Contact the Blind Man immediately to confirm!"

After receiving the message that "the boss you encounter each week may change randomly," Qin Xiao could only accept reality—he was facing a completely new kind of monster, with no experience to draw upon.

"I'm sorry, I can't provide any useful information this time." The Blind Man was also surprised by this.

"It's alright, I'll play it by ear."

It seems I can only rely on myself.

He approached cautiously; the system identified the leader as "Diamond Barbarian Beast."

Just from the name, one can tell that he is a defensive type. For Shield Guard like him who excels in defense and has relatively simple offensive methods, he is by no means an ideal opponent.

He decided to test the waters with his strongest attack first, to see if he could inflict considerable damage, and at the same time, to officially activate the behemoth.

However, the attack had a negligible effect, almost insignificant compared to the long health bar.

Ultimately, his explosive power was still somewhat lacking.

Immediately afterwards, the leader's heavy frontal attack came hurtling down.

His health plummeted to a dangerous level, and his innate healing skills were simply insufficient to revive him in time.

Without a dedicated therapist to assist you, challenging such a leader alone is indeed incredibly difficult.

The team members waiting outside also learned through team information sharing that their Captain had encountered an unknown new leader, which made them worry for him.

"It's too risky to solo dungeons without Priest's support."

"Those who can do this are either unconventional Priests like the Chongxing, possessing terrifying damage output and the ability to be self-sufficient."

"Either a damage-dealing class with strong life-steal abilities; or a top-tier Shield Guard like the Captain, who might be able to hold out for a while."

As the group was discussing this, the Teleportation Array flashed, and Qin Xiao's figure appeared.

Wait, how could it be so fast?

The group looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

How can I express my concern without undermining the Captain's confidence?

"That leader... must be ridiculously strong!"

"That's right, it might be some kind of system vulnerability."

"If it were us, we'd probably be instantly killed as soon as we went in."

"The Captain is really amazing, he held on for so long!"

Qin Xiao waved his hand helplessly. "Stop. I appreciate your comfort, but it's having limited effect."

One team member quickly said, "If you ask me, the difficulty of the Barbarian God Hall might indeed exceed the capabilities of a single person; ultimately, it requires teamwork to conquer."

"How about... we go check out the Demon-Suppressing Tower first?"

Someone chimed in, "Yes, yes, there's also the Demon-Suppressing Tower as an option!"

"But like the Demon-Suppressing Tower, the Barbarian God Hall is a five-player Team Dungeon."

"I'm afraid I won't achieve much on my own."

Having suffered repeated setbacks, Qin Xiao also lacked confidence in challenging the Demon-Suppressing Tower.

At this moment, another team member's eyes lit up. "Captain, you've misunderstood."

"Don't forget, you're currently the only level 90 player on the entire server besides the Chongxing."

"And today is the last day of the week."

"This means that as long as you successfully break through the first level of the Demon-Suppressing Tower, you can climb to the top of this week's leaderboard! Wouldn't the rewards on that leaderboard be yours?"

After his reminder, everyone suddenly remembered about the ranking rewards.

That's right. Even if you only clear the most basic first level, as long as you make a record, you're eligible to be included in the leaderboard!

"That's right, Captain! The difficulty of the Demon-Suppressing Tower usually increases with each floor. Relatively speaking, the first floor is definitely the easiest, and we have a good chance!"

Encouraged by his teammates' words, Qin Xiao's fighting spirit was rekindled.

This matter might actually be possible.

The group arrived at the Demon-Suppressing Tower again, gazing up at its towering, seemingly endless structure, and couldn't help but sigh once more.

"Every time I see this tower, I am filled with awe."

I really don't know how many layers it has.

"I don't know. At our current level, we're probably not qualified to see the whole picture."

"Why think so much? Captain, your goal today is to take the first floor! That's victory!"

"Hey, the way you're talking, it's like the Captain can only beat the first level?"

"That's not what I meant! Stop trying to drive a wedge between me and the Captain!"

Qin Xiao had to interrupt the increasingly off-topic argument, "Alright."

"I'm already grateful that I made it through the first floor today; I don't dare to hope for any higher floors now."

"I'll go in first."

Having said that, he went straight to the stone beast in front of the tower and shouted, "I want to break through the tower!"

"Entry to the tower requires a payment of 10,000 Gold Coins."

Before Qin Xiao could speak, his companions around him began to mutter, "Isn't this just blatant robbery? If they lose, won't their 10,000 Gold Coins be wasted?"

"So you guys still think the Captain can't get through..."

Qin Xiao ignored his teammates' comments.

He understood they were trying to comfort him, but he said nothing, paid the Gold Coins, and stepped into the tower.

Since his goal was the first level, he decided to give it his all.

He drank all the potions he had that could improve his condition, and prepared all the items he had previously exchanged, intending to use them at any time.

He felt he wasn't very confident about his chances against the Barbarian God Hall, so he didn't waste the precious materials.

Now it was a do-or-die situation, with nothing left to hold back.

He was, after all, the second player in the world to reach level 90. If he failed in two consecutive dungeons, it would be too embarrassing for their regular army!

Is it only those who roam freely who can thrive in this changing era?

Impossible.

The regular army is still stronger.

Otherwise, why didn't the warlords win the world wars?

The Protection of the first level of the Demon-Suppressing Tower is an Ironclad Stone Scorpion.

Judging by its appearance, it's another tough-skinned, defensive Warcraft —today we're really going to have to contend with this kind of monster.

After taking a special potion that greatly enhanced his attack, Qin Xiao moved and charged straight at the giant scorpion.

At the same time, he swallowed a Blood-Red Fruit, and his vital energy began to recover steadily.

Given this situation, as long as one's movements are agile enough, there should be a chance of victory!

The man and the beast immediately engaged in a fierce battle.

The people waiting outside the tower breathed a sigh of relief after a long while when Qin Xiao did not emerge.

This at least shows that the battle is not one-sided, and it seems that there is still hope of clearing the game.

Although they said reassuring things, they weren't really that confident.

"It should... work out, right?"

"If they weren't strong enough to be defeated, they should have been out of the game long ago, they haven't been sent out yet."

"Looks like there's a real chance."

Inside the tower, the leader scorpion's tail struck with lightning speed, inflicting horrific damage on Qin Xiaowuhui, whose health instantly plummeted to a critical level.

He hurriedly swallowed a High-Grade Primordial Chaos Pill to bring his qi and blood back to a safe level.

Just now, because I was a fraction of a second too slow in dodging, I almost failed.

The giant scorpion's health has already been reduced by half; it would be a great pity if it were to fall here.

Immediately following was another move, "Flying Sand and Rolling Stones," which covered an extremely wide area and was impossible to avoid.

You cannot summon pets to help you in this tower; you must face it alone.

If he had a Healing Summoned Beast to assist him, he wouldn't be in such a predicament.

Judging from the current situation, it's already a stroke of luck to have made it past the first level; as for the second level, which is even higher, we dare not even dream of it now.

From the very start of the battle, a clear countdown appeared before my eyes—the challenge of the Demon-Suppressing Tower, where I had to defeat the gatekeeper within the allotted time.

Qin Xiao dared not delay for the slightest, and finally, after half an hour, he completely defeated the Ironclad Stone Scorpion.

A system notification sounded, "Congratulations on clearing the first level of the Demon-Suppressing Tower. You have received one Experience Pill."

"Since you have completed the challenge within the allotted time, would you like to proceed to the second phase of the Ironclad Stone Scorpion's trial?"

There's even a second stage?

We've already cleared the first level, both horizontally and vertically, so why not give it a try...

Outside the tower, a group of people were discussing plans for the evolved dungeon when suddenly a figure darted out from inside the tower gate—it was "Qin Xiao Youhui".

They hurriedly turned to look at the leaderboard next to the Demon-Suppressing Tower.

Sure enough, a new data entry appeared below the original single record.

"First Place: Chongxing (Fifth Floor) Points..."

Second Place: Qin Xiao Youhui (First Level) Points...

"Captain did it! Captain is awesome!"

"But why are the points earned on the same floor so different by more than ten times? Is there some other scoring rule?"

When Qin Xiao relayed the news that he had cleared the first level and that each level contained hidden challenges back to the team channel, everyone suddenly realized the reason for the huge difference in their scores.

"So there was a second stage."

"I never expected to see Experience Pills as a reward again."

"Red Garment, you're in charge of getting information from Chongxing about the other guards on the other levels."

"Clear!"

However, at this very moment, when Zhang Mingzhen received the communication request from the woman in Red Garment, he immediately chose to hang up.

Because he had no time to be distracted at the moment—he was originally clearing monsters in the wild to accumulate experience, but suddenly received a system notification.

System notification: "Congratulations on your brilliant idea! The level cap for the Spring Wind skill has been increased by 1."

When he previously advanced to Third-Tier Lifeform, the system notified him that his skill comprehension cap had been increased.

In retrospect, it seems that the process of accumulating experience indeed triggered the opportunity to comprehend higher -High-Tier Skills.

This might be similar to the skill learning mechanism of Summoned Beasts, both of which require players to learn through continuous growth, but it's unclear where the upper limit is.

He quickly checked his skill bar, and sure enough, a plus sign appeared next to his "Spring Wind" Healing Class skill, which was originally at level 10.

You can continue to upgrade the skill level simply by consuming skill points.

Now he has plenty of skill points.

He had previously felt that his skill points, which were three times higher than those of ordinary people, seemed to be useless in the later stages of the game, but now they were coming in handy.

The healing skill "Spring Wind" becomes significantly more effective after reaching level 11.

Its range has been expanded to a radius of fifteen units, and it can provide continuous healing to up to ten friendly targets simultaneously.

Each treatment will produce three stages of recovery effect within a short period of time, depending on the caster's mental attribute, with a total value of up to three times the mental strength.

During the spell's duration, the target's defense is increased by an additional 10%.

This skill consumes 300 mana points and requires a five-second wait after each use before it can be used again.

Compared to the effect at level ten, this upgrade is almost double the previous one—the range has expanded from twelve to fifteen, and crucially, the maximum number of people that Healing has increased from five to ten.

This made him wonder whether subsequent skill upgrades would bring such a significant boost, or whether such a leap in growth would only occur at level eleven.

Unfortunately, in everyday adventures, there aren't many opportunities to use this kind of group healing skill as a support ability.

After all, he's Lone Wolf Path.

He couldn't help but imagine what kind of power offensive skills would unleash if they received the same enhancement.

It seems that in the next few days, he will have to focus on training in the wild and constantly hunting monsters to level up.

While he was pondering this, the "Red Garment" person he had previously refused to contact continued to send messages, causing him great distress.

"What exactly do you want?!" Zhang Mingzhen had no choice but to reply.

The Red Garment clearly hadn't expected Zhang Mingzhen's response to be so curt.

She thought they were already quite familiar with each other.

Little did they know that Zhang Mingzhen, like those founding emperors, had been corrupted by power, and his mind was no longer that of an ordinary person.

Just like Zhu Yuanzhang's childhood friends, those who still called him "Chongba" as before were all killed.

Those who fawned upon him as if he were a king received rewards.

The man in Red Garment had seen him moving about in the wild and deduced that he was clearing out monsters and should have some free time.

It was only because of the integration with reality that the signal might be poor, which is why I kept trying to contact them, but I never expected it to provoke such impatience from the other party.

Could it be that he is handling urgent matters in the wilderness?

Upon seeing that the expert had finally responded, the Red Garment immediately straightened her posture and raised her questions one by one.

We'll talk about that later.

"Does your Legion have a version of the intelligence-enhancing potion you previously developed for pets that's compatible with players?" Zhang Mingzhen still had some needs from the Legion Guild, so he was still somewhat patient.

"In other words, potion-type items that can increase the probability of a player learning a skill."

"I've never heard of that before," the Red Garment quickly replied.

"Aren't player skills naturally acquired as the system level increases? Are you referring to those potions that unlock the wisdom of those with mental deficiencies?"

She quickly used a respectful form of address.

Logically, upon entering the God's Domain, not only should the disabled regain their full health, but even those with congenital intellectual disabilities should return to normal. Why would they need such medication?

Damn it, you're the one with a mental defect! You're all mentally defective!

He said no more and simply closed the chat window.

The Red Garment quickly reported to her superiors, "Report, Chongxing seems to be focused on leveling up and has no time for anything else at the moment."

"Would you like to try contacting me again later?"