Returning to Fairy City

"Just watch me do my thing this time. Don't help!" Wang Qianduo said to the two sisters after they entered the Instance Dungeon.

Then they witnessed the first display of the Lord of the Elements' might since its creation.

He piloted the Lord of the Elements as it slowly floated into the air. Strangely, though, the Arcane Wings built into the Mecha on its back didn't activate.

At the same time, two energy orbs circled his hands. He casually waved at one of the two guard wolves in the Nightmare Dungeon, and an orb crackling with arcs of electricity shot toward it.

-876

An absurd amount of damage appeared above the Dire Wolf's head, instantly emptying its health bar.

Wang Qianduo didn't attack the other wolf. Instead, he waited quietly for it to summon its companions.

Although the monsters in the Nightmare Dungeon had extremely high Intelligence, they still couldn't defy the system's basic rules.

In reality, the wolf he'd let go might have warned its companions to flee instead of leading them here to get killed.

Just as Wang Qianduo thought they'd gathered in sufficient numbers, he raised both hands. Twenty-two Photon orbs, bright as the sun, appeared in midair above the pack.

The moment they looked up to see what was happening, countless Photon Rays burst from the orbs, raining down on the ground beneath the wolves.

-1750

-1761

Critical Hit -3975

-2001

Countless damage numbers rose above the pack. Before the Photon Rays had even lasted half their duration, every Dire Wolf—including the Dire Wolf King—had been wiped out.

When the barrage ended, Yu Xiaoyu and the others looked across the land and saw nothing but scorched earth and devastation.

Aside from the Dire Wolves' drops, everything else across the area had been reduced to ash.

Wang Qianduo had once again changed their understanding of the game. So this was how powerful a Mecha became after reaching level ten?

Could it really?

"Keep up!"

Wang Qianduo collected the drops, then spoke when he saw everyone still standing there in a daze.

"Ah! Coming!"

The rest of the Instance Dungeon was easy. Few monsters could survive one of Wang Qianduo's Elemental Missiles.

And if one did, a follow-up Energy Bolt was usually enough to finish it off.

The bosses were even easier. Three bosses, three Photon Rays. None of them even managed to touch Old Wang before they went down.

They cleared the Nightmare Dungeon in less than five minutes—a speed the others could hardly imagine.

"I'll turn in the quest as soon as I can, then take you through the next four dungeons!" Once they exited the Instance Dungeon, Wang Qianduo sent a trade request and spoke to the Yu Sisters.

Even though he could run the dungeon by himself now, he still planned to split the money with the sisters. He wasn't the kind of person who abandoned someone once they'd served their purpose.

But Yu Xiaoyu declined his trade request and said to him:

"Old Wang, we can't take your money anymore.

"You can clear this dungeon on your own now. You don't need our help anymore!

"And, well, you could easily earn money by taking other people through it yourself."

"I'm not short on Gold Crystals. Is there some conflict with your schedule?" Hearing the Yu Sisters, Wang Qianduo sensed something was wrong and asked with a frown.

"Not at all! We just feel like we can't keep up with how quickly you're improving.

"It's only a matter of time before you take off. We don't want to hold you back.

"Once you've taken off, just come back and take us along again!" Yu Xiaoyu said.

Wang Qianduo didn't mind taking them along, but they didn't want to keep getting a free ride.

It wasn't just a free ride, either. They'd also be taking his money, and they weren't the kind of people who'd do that.

Wang Qianduo said, "I'll be stuck at level ten for a long time. The things you're worried about won't happen."

But the sisters had made up their minds. After failing to talk them out of it, Wang Qianduo disbanded the party.

"That's more like it! If you ever need help, just call us. We'll be there!

"And once you've taken off, don't forget to come back and take me along!"

After saying goodbye to Yu Xiaoyu, Wang Qianduo went to turn in his repeatable quest.

When the second round of the repeatable quest called for another dungeon run, he glanced at the chat channel, feeling a little down.

Because he'd been reborn, he hadn't made many friends in this life, from childhood to adulthood. The Yu Sisters counted among his better friends, even though they'd known each other for only a little over ten days.

But a meeting of kindred spirits made a thousand cups of wine seem too few. Wang Qianduo thought friendship was much the same: sometimes you clicked with someone, and a few words were all it took to become close friends.

He knew he might not get to spend much time with them from now on.

Why am I thinking about all this sentimental nonsense? Since when did I get so sappy? Wang Qianduo said with a self-mocking smile, then formed another Nightmare Dungeon party.

After the Yu Sisters left, Night Owl also left the party. The three of them formed a regular group to challenge the Nightmare Dungeon.

With their abilities, they'd have no trouble clearing it if they found two more teammates of similar strength.

Still, even if he said all that, the feeling in his heart remained unpleasant.

So he vented all those bad feelings on the dungeon's monsters.

Rampaging Elemental Energy swept across the land, annihilating every monster Wang Qianduo could see. The four customers watched in trepidation.

When it was time to pay, they each handed over the money without hesitation. It seemed they'd misunderstood something.

"I can only take you through four runs today. I've already used one, so if you want another ride, you'll have to wait until tomorrow!"

"No problem! No problem! Please, go ahead and take care of your business!"

They left the party and hurried off, but they still added Wang Qianduo as a friend.

After all, there were only a handful of people who could take others through the Nightmare Dungeon.

~~~

After finishing the repeatable quest, Wang Qianduo looked at his only Hidden Quest once more.

[Shadow of the Insectoid Race 2] (Unique Hidden Quest): Go to the Black Shark Pirates' Secret Hideout on Fairy Star, the central planet of Star Domain Nine, and collect the 15 types of special potions the Black Shark Pirates use to experiment on the Insectoids.

Quest Requirement: Collect 15 types of special potions

Progress: 0/15

Reward: Unknown

General Huang was very interested in the potions the Black Shark Pirates used against the Insectoids, because they really could have a huge effect on them.

In fact, they could even sever the connection between ordinary Insectoids and the Zerg Hive Mind. As he put it, "The Black Shark Pirates are a bunch of scumbags, but one of these potions might be the key to humanity's fight against the Insectoids."

And that was how this quest came about. The Black Shark Pirates' Secret Hideout was actually the game's second Instance Dungeon, the Black Shark Pirates' Secret Hideout, a five-player dungeon open to players from levels 10 to 17.

The dungeon's gatekeeping boss was Mark Bi, a minor Black Shark Pirates officer and the younger brother of the World Boss Mark Bokuai.

You had to admit, those brothers' names were incredibly careless. Maybe their parents had known they'd turn out badly and named them "Bokuai" and "Bi," meaning "despicable."

The Black Shark Pirates' Secret Hideout was just outside Fairy City. Unlike the first Instance Dungeon, though, this one could only be unlocked by completing a quest first.

So Wang Qianduo went to Fairy Star, intending to complete the Gate-Opening Quest.

"Have you heard? Some major storyline seems to have started in Fairy City. Hundreds of NPCs, big and small, have been arrested or killed."

"Of course I have! A few days ago, NPCs kept summoning Mechas to fight in the city. Quite a few people got caught up in it!"

"It's been quiet the last couple of days. I wonder if someone completed the quest!"

Not long after entering the city, Wang Qianduo overheard two people discussing something.

"Looks like Old Huang acted fast—and really doesn't tolerate any of these people!" Wang Qianduo thought.

In fact, of the three factions—the Conservative Faction, the Radical Faction, and the Neutral Faction—Old Huang and his master, Old Luo, both belonged to the Neutral Faction. They were a faction that rarely took part in struggles for power.

The Neutral Faction had never produced a leader. Whoever took power, they supported, and they never stirred up trouble.

But the faction had one defining trait: when it came to anything involving the Insectoids, they truly had zero tolerance. Nothing anyone said could change their minds.

Of the more than two hundred officials, over a hundred who truly hadn't known anything were spared. Not one of the rest was left alive.

That showed that zero tolerance wasn't just something they said.

Wang Qianduo didn't know much about these things. Zero had pieced them together from bits of scattered information.

Even the players could feel the NPCs' anxiety after Fairy City had been purged.

But that was also why, in recent days, Fairy City had filled with experts from all over.

They'd come because of the changes in the city. Searching for Hidden Quests was one reason; another was that Fairy City had become a place where they could make a profit.

Wang Qianduo didn't care about any of that, though. He'd already done all there was to do with those things.

For now, his priority was unlocking the Instance Dungeon and completing the Hidden Quest.