-88, -92, -89, -84, -91, -95, Sea of Flames. -124, -126, -122, -129, -125, -125, Flame Devours the Body. -634, -642, -641, -638, -637, -649, Explosive Impact.
Ever since learning Sea of Flames, Ye Fengxing's AOE capability had jumped to a whole new level! Even when Ironhead pulled six monsters at once, he couldn't be bothered to help with crowd control. He simply cut loose with every area attack he had, making Ironhead yell again and again, "Goddammit! Slow down, slow down! I don't have a single goddamn AOE aggro skill, and you're going this hard? Are you trying to screw me over?" (AOE: Area of effect, referring to skills that take effect within a certain area and can affect multiple targets.)
Ye Fengxing had only three words for Ironhead's repeated protests: "Quit your whining."
"You motherfucker..." Helpless, Ironhead could only keep desperately generating threat, so busy he didn't even have time to trade insults.
Honestly, this really was asking a lot of Ironhead. After all, he was only level 12 and hadn't learned any area damage skills yet. Once that bastard Ye Fengxing went all out, a dozen damage numbers would pop up in a nonstop stream... The fact that Ironhead could still barely hold aggro under those circumstances spoke volumes about his skill.
Kawaii finally had something to do. Six monsters attacking one person simultaneously in Hell Mode did no small amount of damage! Especially since Ironhead had to focus on maintaining aggro and naturally couldn't spare the attention to dodge, parry, or block. He wasn't Superman, after all.
Those two animals, Ironhead and Ye Fengxing, finally forced the potential of a professional-grade healer out into the open...
Ironhead's HP never rose above half, and dipping below 100 was practically routine. But! Even so, Ironhead simply wouldn't die! Watching his health bar go up and down like a roller coaster was enough to make anyone's heart pound.
The six monsters finally fell to the ground one after another. Ye Fengxing tossed Kawaii several stacks of magical food and asked with a grin, "Is this wild enough for you?"
"Very good," Kawaii replied with a smile as he ate to replenish his dwindling mana.
Animals... A pair of animals... In truth, a stream of curses had been echoing through our professional-grade healer's heart for quite some time. Goddammit! You actually dared to mass-pull in Hell Mode, and six at once, too... All I fucking said was to cut loose a little. Did you have to cut loose this much? Are you two screwing with me?!
"Ironhead, go." Once Ye Fengxing finished eating and drinking, he immediately called on his buddy to start the next pull.
After seeing Kawaii's healing prowess, Ironhead became even more reckless and actually pulled eight monsters at once!
"God! Allah! Buddha! Please tell me, what am I supposed to do when someone's determined to get himself killed?" Kawaii completely fell apart at the sight of Ironhead's antics...
Cursing was one thing, but he still had to heal. This time, Kawaii was so busy he couldn't even speak.
Even so, Ironhead's health kept dropping into the danger zone. Eight monsters were an entirely different matter from six! Kawaii had barely been keeping him alive before, and now he simply announced, "I can't keep up!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the first mob on the left was struck by Cyclone Bind. As though he and Ye Fengxing shared a mind, Ironhead didn't touch that monster at all, letting it get swept into the air. (A target affected by Cyclone Bind would break free after taking a certain amount of damage.)
What was this? This was bromance at its finest!
It couldn't be helped. They'd worked together tens of thousands of times. If they still didn't have any rapport, there was nothing left to explain. They could decide for themselves whether to buy brain supplements or something stronger.
-94, Sea of Flames. -125, Flame Devours the Body. -647, Explosive Impact. -337! Critical hit! Flame Arrow! -344! Critical hit! Flame Arrow!
After taking repeated hits, the first monster on the right finally saw red. It turned toward Ye Fengxing and lunged at him with a howl.
What's he doing? Things are already this dangerous, and now he's pulling aggro? Am I not busy enough? Kawaii groaned inwardly and hurriedly switched targets, preparing to throw Ye Fengxing a heal-this mob could use Charge. Slowing it wouldn't help; it could still close the distance in an instant. [OT: Over-taunted, meaning a loss of aggro control. Both damage and healing generated threat. If that threat exceeded the MT's-the main tank's-and caused a monster to abandon the MT and target you instead, that was OT.]
In Hell Mode, even ordinary mobs could practically one-shot non-tank classes! And Ye Fengxing was a mage, the class with the lowest defense of all.
"Tank, Taunt the first mob on the right." Kawaii had no choice but to speak up. He'd kept quiet earlier because his teammates were experts, but now this "expert" had actually made a "mistake"... Kawaii felt he had to step in! (Taunt: A skill that forced a monster to attack you, generally learnable only by tank classes.)
"No need." Despite being swamped, Ironhead still managed to reply.
Whoosh! Before the words had fully faded, the mob Charged straight over.
Kawaii was frustrated beyond belief. What the hell were these two doing? Were they messing with him? They wouldn't pull the monster back after losing aggro-were they waiting for a wipe?
Ye Fengxing immediately answered his doubts through action... With a Blink, he suddenly appeared twenty meters ahead. The mob, named Skeleton Guard, didn't even touch him. Instead, it was hit by Chaotic Wind, followed immediately by Flame Devours the Body, then several consecutive Flame Arrows.
Boom, boom! Crack, crack! Explosions erupted from the mob one after another, ringing out without pause.
So he pulled aggro on purpose... Kawaii immediately understood what he was seeing. Thinking back over Ye Fengxing's actions confirmed it-those two consecutive critical Flame Arrows had been intended to pull aggro!
Kawaii could handle six monsters attacking at once, and Ironhead returned to his relaxed, easygoing manner-that bastard Ye Fengxing finally had something to keep him busy, so Ironhead no longer had to frantically generate threat. Sweet!
A certain someone gradually approached Ironhead, trailing the stumbling Skeleton Guard behind him, and said in a low voice, "Kill this one first."
"Aw, don't. You look like you're having plenty of fun playing with him. Keep it up a little longer."
Without another word, Ye Fengxing shot down the monster suspended in the air.
Only then did Ironhead cave. "Bro, I was wrong! Whatever you say!"
Ye Fengxing cast Cyclone Bind, sending the innocent mob he'd been toying with back into the air. As the Skeleton Guard drew closer, Ironhead roared and swung his sword at him! He didn't use Taunt, so Ye Fengxing remained the Skeleton Guard's primary aggro target, and Ironhead was perfectly happy with that.
The two of them pounded the poor skeletal frame mercilessly. In just over ten seconds, the already wounded skeleton was reduced to a heap of shattered bones.
The crisis was over. Ironhead held six monsters with a constipated look on his face, while Kawaii secretly let out a long sigh of relief...
After successfully clearing this wave, Ye Fengxing's trio finally caught sight of the legendary Rotten Barbara.
This fellow turned out to be a Necromancer. Short and squat, with no way to tell what race Barbara had belonged to in life, Barbara was surrounded by a rotten-green gas that came from the staff in Barbara's hand. The bastard was pacing back and forth with a sneaky, sleazy look that just begged for a beating!
"Guys, shall we give it a shot?" Ye Fengxing asked with a grin.
"Let's do it." Kawaii smiled as well.
Ironhead couldn't even be bothered to speak. He simply charged in like a ravenous beast...
Western Continent, Moonwhisper Forest, Misty Swamp.
Misty Swamp was a level 15 dungeon, and in the early stages of the game, every player on the Western Continent had to farm it. It dropped level 15 green equipment for every class, and even blue, superior-quality equipment! If you were strong enough to tackle Madness Mode or Hell Mode, you might even get yellow or purple gear.
Misty Swamp also produced loads of materials. At this level, most players had learned one or two support skills and were desperately short of materials. Since everyone needed them, even money couldn't necessarily buy them. And if you could buy them, you'd have to pay through the nose like a sucker.
Under those circumstances, farming them yourself was undoubtedly the most economical and practical option.
Like Ghostly Cave in the Southern Isles, Misty Swamp was run countless times every day. Most players only attempted Normal Mode, though, and very few even challenged Hard Mode.
Today, however...
"Nanfeng, pull left, pull left! The boss is using a skill."
"I know. I'm stunned in place. Move on your own. Everyone fall back to the left. Don't worry about me."
"Need me to clear your stun?"
"Not yet. Save it for the next wave."
"Shooty, the little lizards spawned."
"If you haven't aggroed a lizard, keep doing what you're doing. If you have, come to me."
"Hang in there, hang in there! Survive one more round of the boss's skills, and we've got it."
"Holy shit! The boss healed again! Hit it harder!"
"Big Dipper! Bloodshadow! Did neither of you eat today? Give it everything you've got!"
"Come on, come on, come on! Only 5% left!"
"3%!"
"1%..."
"We did it!!"
"Yeah!"
A string of wildly excited shouts echoed through Misty Swamp, lingering for a long time.
System announcement: Player "Too Late to Shoot" led "Nanfeng Luan," "Lonely Big Dipper," "Bloodshadow," and "Bai Caosheng" to conquer the level 15 dungeon-Madness Mode [Misty Swamp]. As the first team to conquer a Madness Mode dungeon, they have been awarded the title [Madman]. Congratulations!
The announcement sent players on every continent into an uproar. This was the Chinese region's first Madness Mode dungeon clear, an achievement with serious weight!
Some wealthy players were so excited that they started spamming the world channel. As for why... None of the five "Madmen" in the announcement were nobodies. Back in Light of Freedom, every one of them had been a renowned powerhouse, so having fans was only natural. (Posting text in the world channel cost in-game currency.)
[World][I'll Take the Blame]: All hail the Mage God! Shooty, I love you!
[World][Bloodhand]: The king of Assassins finally shines! Paying my respects to the mighty Bloodshadow. All hail!
[World][Bloodshadow520]: Agreed with the post above. Paying my respects too!
[World][Wangying Lanxi]: Oh, not bad, Shooty. You even snagged a first clear.
[World][Little Mage Fan]: Our Shooty is mighty and magnificent, no explanation needed... Shit! Another Mage God spotted above! Are the gods going to duke it out today?
[World][Too Late to Shoot]: Not bad, not bad. What are you and your Ye up to?
[World][What Are You Gonna Do]: What are you two Mage Gods talking about? Making small talk? Where's the hostility? We want some hostility! Give us a fight!
[World][Fly, Fly]: The mighty Lan Xi is here! Where are all the Lan Xi Fans? Gather up, gather up!
[World][Iceblade Reaper]: Lan Xi Fan reporting in. Signing up first! Everyone below, line up. We Lan Xi Fans are civilized, orderly folk.
While everyone was having a grand time, a huge line of red text suddenly popped up, forcefully taking over the world channel! Its vivid scarlet color proclaimed just how extraordinary it was!
System announcement: Player "Hidden Name" led "Hidden Name" and "Hidden Name" to conquer the level 15 dungeon-Hell Mode [Ghostly Cave]. As the first team to conquer a Hell Mode dungeon, they have been awarded the title [Hell Warrior]. Congratulations!
The world channel suddenly went silent. For a moment, it was as though the server had frozen.
That silence didn't last long, however. Once Lan Xi posted "Holy-shit," the entire world channel exploded...
Before you continue