Chapter 72: Class Strength
The candid truth spoken by Unceasing Entropy left both Guileless Gale and Blossoming Strokes feeling somewhat disheartened. Indeed, quite a few people in their respective teams had begun to murmur about abandoning this troublesome event and simply grinding monsters instead. However, actually giving up… wasn't really an option.
At least, Unceasing Entropy and Blossoming Strokes knew that their comrades, Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding, absolutely weren't willing to give up. After days of fierce competition, their territory prestige was neck and neck with Ji Tang. If this event's instance dungeons were to be cleared by Unceasing Entropy's side, then Ji Tang would surely leap ahead of the other two in terms of territory prestige.
Today was already the 26th, and the end-of-month settlement was in just a few days. If Ji Tang managed to surpass Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding at this time, the latter two would definitely be very upset!
If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't want Vanilla Pudding's efforts to go to waste, Blossoming Strokes, who had an aversion to horror elements, wouldn't be so actively gritting her teeth and stubbornly battling through this bizarre instance dungeon.
"Let me start by discussing our strategy for the warrior instructor's inner demon instance," Unceasing Entropy continued candidly. "To tackle this instance, the team needs to hold hands and approach it closely to avoid being instantly killed. Once inside, you'll find yourself in what looks like a steampunk-era dock. However, the area is very confined, with a large docked ship on one side and an inaccessible warehouse on the other. You can only move around within the dock area.
"You can't see any NPCs inside the instance, and there's only some faint crying in the background. The first time we entered, we were too focused on searching the dock and ignored the cries. As a result, after about ten minutes in the instance, we were killed by the monster that suddenly emerged from a drainage ditch by the street.
"The second time, we went around the drainage ditch and still got killed by the monster that emerged from the pipes around the ten-minute mark." At this point, Unceasing Entropy faltered. "We never even saw the shape of the monster despite being teamwiped twice in a row. Even Ji Tang, who led the second attempt, only caught a vague glimpse of something that looked like flowing water in his field of vision."
Guileless Gale shuddered. "Even Ji Tang couldn't get a good look at the monster?"
"Exactly," Unceasing Entropy confirmed. "On the third try, I led the team. Since being wiped out at around ten minutes and the sobbing sounds in the background seemed to serve as a hint, I guided my teammates to search for the source of the crying…"
"And you didn't find it?" Blossoming Strokes asked.
"No." Unceasing Entropy sighed. "While there are quite a lot of inaccessible places in that instance, the remaining space for exploration is still too large. I reckon that even if we head in with a full team, it'd still take several wipes before we fully explore the map."
Guileless Gale exchanged a glance with Blossoming Strokes, then said, "Um… I've read the posts on the forums regarding the assassin instructor's inner demon instance. The ranger instructor's inner demon instance we face on our end might be slightly easier compared to the warrior instructor's, but it's probably harder than the assassin instructor's instance."
Next, Guileless Gale elaborated on his side's experience in exploring their instance…
"Alright. Looking at things, it does seem like the assassin instructor's inner demon instance has the lowest difficulty," Blossoming Strokes said. "The boss can be seen right away upon entering. Apart from its eccentric appearance and high attack power, it also goes into a rage when its health drops to around 30%…"
"Have you figured out the mechanics and skills of this boss?" asked Guileless Gale in a professional manner.
Guileless Gale and his good friends, Phantom, Study Obsessed, and others, had followed Brother Lahong and transitioned from another online game to OtherWorld. He was quite a seasoned leader from his PC gaming days, with skills and expertise to match.
Blossoming Strokes, on the other hand, had a more laid-back approach to her online gaming. However, she too had experiences with instance dungeons and nodded. "The boss only uses basic attacks until its health drops below 50%… though these attacks are quite different from basic attacks of ordinary enemies. As you know, this monster has… um… three heads and six arms, so its attack range is rather extensive."
Guileless Gale and Unceasing Entropy: "…"
They both had read Blossoming Strokes' forum post and understood that the boss of the assassin instructor's inner demon instance was a "corpse centipede composed of three bodies." Now, with Blossoming Strokes describing it as having "three heads and six arms," they realized how apt this bizarre description was…
"When its health drops below 50%, the boss's attack frequency increases, and its basic attack gains a sweeping damage effect in a fan shape. If the wanderers are at the same angle as tanking knights, they will still be hit. When the health drops below 30% and the boss enters a rage mode, it uses a skill similar to warrior's charge that can instantly kill healers and NPCs, like the teenage Hal you see when you enter the instance. If the teenage Hal dies, it's an instant failure."
"Wait, it can also charge?" Guileless Gale raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean that knights can't hold it back?"
"No, they can't." Blossoming Strokes shook her head with a sigh. "We had two knights with us, and it was manageable until the boss entered rage mode. But once it goes berserk, we can't control it at all."
"This is also rather troubling…" Guileless Gale frowned. "Can the terrain be utilized? Is there anywhere to corner the boss?"
"We tried to lead the boss to a spot where it could be cornered when it was close to rage mode," groaned Blossoming Strokes. "This was where the most ridiculous part happened. This boss can jump, crawl, and climb. We weren't able to corner it using tree stumps or other parts of the terrain."
"Hmm?" Unceasing Entropy suddenly sat a little straighter.
"Qingyue, do you have an idea?" Blossoming Strokes asked right away.
Unceasing Entropy responded, "This boss only has two legs, right? Jumping requires legs to act as a support. What if we immobilize or sever the boss's legs? Given the realism of this game, it should work in theory. Remember how we easily defeated the Demonized Toads in Poisonous Marshland by cutting open its sides?"
Blossoming Strokes shook her head. "I don't think it's feasible considering the boss's toughness and attack frequency. Even if wanderers approach to cut the legs, they would be killed before they manage to sever them."
Unceasing Entropy broke into a slight smile. "If a wanderer can't do it, how about a warrior?"
Blossoming Strokes was momentarily stunned.
Guileless Gale also caught on, and his jaw dropped.
Unceasing Entropy continued, "Let's not rush to deplete the boss's health. A mage can cast Slowdown to reduce its speed. Knights can keep the boss's attention at the front while two warriors attack the legs from behind. If two rotations of full skill sets don't do the job, we wait for the cooldown and then do it again. Would there be any hope in such an approach?"
Blossoming Strokes' mouth was agape.
In this game, "OtherWorld," warriors weren't generally well regarded by players, unlike in other games.
The reasons were pretty simple: they had low durability, thin health, and short legs (charge was problematic). While their all-out attack power was high, their sustained damage output was rather poor. They couldn't match the continuous damage output of wanderers, whose skills with shorter cooldowns allowed them to maintain a steady damage output.
Players also considered practicality when playing games. Who would willingly play a "little brother" class that always got trounced in sparring, contributed less in group battles, and didn't earn the respect of teammates?
As a result, there were very few players who chose to become warriors in the game. Aside from Vanilla Pudding, who was a devoted enthusiast, the other three warrior players were on Unceasing Entropy's side.
Even though the female warrior duo of Stuffed Gummy (Tang Jia) and Yang Ying showcased great energized moves during the expedition quests, there still weren't many willing to grind warrior reputation…
"This… seems plausible," Blossoming Strokes said hesitantly.
"Let's wait for the day to pass, and then let our team try it." Unceasing Entropy suggested. "Regardless of the outcome, I'll share the process with you."
Blossoming Strokes and Guileless Gale exchanged a silent glance. "…Alright."
Unceasing Entropy had candidly explained the strategy of exploiting the high burst damage potential of warrior's skills against the boss and had also generously promised to share the entire strategy process. Regardless of which perspective, this approach was commendable. Even if there were some contentious points, the other two couldn't complain…
It was 4.30 p.m. Earth time, and the peak online hours of the weekend gradually approached.
Qin Guan, who had died and was kicked offline just before daybreak in the game, quickly took the chance during his death penalty to post a sarcastically appreciative message to the developers on the forum and also edited a short video clip of his activities during the event and uploaded it to BiliBili. Afterward, when the cooldown was done, he eagerly logged back into the game.
After hearing the new strategy proposed by Unceasing Entropy that was brought back by Blossoming Strokes, Qin Guan couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy cow!"
"Lahong's side doesn't have a single warrior, but at least we have you," said Blossoming Strokes. "Vanilla, you better give it your all!"
Qin Guan rubbed his bare skull sheepishly.
It was just that he, as a warrior, had last seen action during the "Night of Rampaging," where everyone was snatching equipment from the advanced NPCs…
"Wait a moment. Speaking of this… I just remembered a girl who plays as a warrior." Give Me Medicine put up a hand to interject. "Blossom, do you remember? I told you about a lady with the ID 'Fallen Mulberry Leaves' before."
Blossoming Strokes thought hard for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Ah! That Mulberry Leaves who was kicked out from her fixed team!"
"Who are you talking about?" Qin Guan asked, slightly confused.
"I mentioned it before, from the fixed team that sold copper coins to me previously," Give Me Medicine explained. "They used to hang out with our group when we first started clearing Spider Cave. But later on, they were able to farm it on their own, so they stopped playing with us."
"Oh." Qin Guan slapped his thigh. "I remember now. The team that used to camp at Spider Cave. They now grind in Poisonous Marshland and often contact you to sell coins and materials, right?"
"That's right," Give Me Medicine confirmed. "Their team logs in and out at fixed times and grinds mobs immediately when online, and the money they earn from selling materials and coins is divided equally among the team members. Among the unaffiliated players, they've managed quite well. This girl, Fallen Mulberry Leaves, was originally a fixed member of their team. Before the expedition quests, members of the team started changing classes. Fallen Mulberry Leaves wanted to play as a warrior, but there were no more openings for that class, so she got kicked out and a player who switched to another class took her place."
Qin Guan was surprised. "That can't be?!"
"How else can it be? Efficiency matters the most for this sort of team, and it's perfectly normal for them to prioritize strong classes." Give Me Medicine shrugged. "If they were just a casual team, differences wouldn't be that significant. But since they're a gold farming team that divides earnings, a warrior's poor endurance and lack of skills compared to the consistent damage output of a wanderer are clear disadvantages. Even if the leader doesn't kick her, other team members would likely have been thinking it."
"Whoa… Then why didn't you ask this girl to join us? We aren't short of openings, and if she's interested in farming gold, she can also join Xiao Zhou's group. The income wouldn't be worse than their fixed team," Qin Guan asked.
"I did invite her, but she was feeling down then and said she didn't want to play PvE and wanted to grind reputation for some lifestyle class for the time being." Give Me Medicine then added confidently, "Don't worry, I'll talk to her again. If I tell her we need a warrior for an instance dungeon strategy, she'll definitely be willing to help."
Follow current nov𝒆ls on freew(𝒆)bnov𝒆l.(c)om