Chapter Seventy-Seven: Hard Mode

The next day, after logging in, Zhang Shan continued grinding monsters at Wild Wolf Slope.

“Artifact Bro is online!”

“Good morning, everyone! What’s everyone up to?”

“Waiting for the team to gather so we can enter the dungeon. I’m just a sliver of experience away from level twenty-one. Let’s clear the first layer of Demon Suppression Platform first.”

“You guys really intend to attempt the hard mode?”

“Of course. Normal mode is boring, and the loot is terrible.”

“True. Has anyone heard of anyone clearing hard mode yet?”

Today, the dungeon attempts for Demon Suppression Platform had reset. Everyone could enter again, but it was unclear whether anyone had successfully challenged or cleared hard mode, so Zhang Shan asked.

“No news so far. I don’t think anyone has made it. The major guilds are saving their attempts for establishing their guilds. They won’t risk it until the last moment.”

That made sense. None of the other guilds had been formally established yet, and clearing the dungeon was a prerequisite for founding a guild. Naturally, they would save their attempts.

Otherwise, if they obtained the Heroes’ Order but had no dungeon attempts left, founding a guild would be delayed for another week. Of course, they had to plan ahead.

“Did anyone found a guild last night?”

“No, right now it’s just our Stormcloud Guild. Everyone else is still working hard for the Heroes’ Order, hehe.”

“Is the Heroes’ Order really that rare? There are over a hundred million players in the game by now. Hasn’t anyone else gotten one in all this time?”

Zhang Shan could hardly believe it. The Heroes’ Order was indeed rare, but with so many players, someone else must have gotten it by now.

“Well, rumor has it that someone sold a Heroes’ Order offline this morning, but who knows if that’s true.”

“Probably true. I wonder what the selling price was?”

“Only the buyer and seller know, but it must’ve been expensive. The major guilds are practically going crazy over the Heroes’ Order.”

“Red bosses drop it, right? Aren’t they hunting bosses?”

“Of course they are. After hitting level twenty, even the folks from the War God Guild have been scouring the map for bosses, ignoring everything else.”

“Looks like we just got lucky.”

“It’s Artifact Bro who’s lucky. Got the Heroes’ Order from the very first red boss. Otherwise, we’d be pulling our hair out right now, wondering how to found a guild.”

“The team’s ready, we’re heading into the dungeon. Artifact Bro, take your time grinding, hehe.”

“Haha, hard mode, here I come!”

“Good luck with the clear!”

“Thanks, big boss—we’ll definitely clear it!”

After Stormcloud World and the team entered the dungeon, only the newer members remained active in the guild chat.

Zhang Shan didn’t know them well, so there was nothing to talk about. Grinding without chatting made the time drag on. As he was wondering whom to talk to, Heart Follows My Will sent him a message.

“Artifact Bro, I just mailed you the remaining five million gold. Check your mail.”

“Got it.”

Zhang Shan opened his mail and found that, as expected, he’d received five million gold.

“Brother Heart, I’ve received the money. Are you really not coming over to Dangyang City?”

“No, not coming. The people from Heaven and Earth Guild have been behaving lately—maybe getting beaten woke them up.”

“Impossible. A leopard can’t change its spots. I doubt they’ve truly changed.”

“Let them be. As long as they don’t mess with me, I don’t care.”

“All right, focus on leveling. If anything comes up, let me know.”

“Will do. I’m only level twenty-two, while you’re already twenty-five. Gotta grind faster.”

“Hehe, keep at it then.”

Another five million gold in hand, though unfortunately, he’d have to split it with the others. After all, twelve people had gone together at the time—he couldn’t keep it all for himself.

Even though he had taken down most of the Heaven and Earth Guild players, he couldn’t have managed it without everyone’s cooperation. He could only stall for time until their forces were scattered enough for him to strike.

It wasn’t as satisfying as going head-to-head, and there was always the risk of unexpected mishaps.

As for how much gold to give the others, Zhang Shan felt conflicted. Too much and he’d be reluctant; too little and it would look bad.

Let’s say they each took down four targets—fifty thousand gold per head, so give each of them two hundred thousand—two point two million in total, leaving Zhang Shan with seven point eight million gold.

Decision made, he mailed out two hundred thousand gold to each teammate.

“Heart Follows My Will’s bounty has been received. I’ve mailed two hundred thousand gold to each of you—the rest I’ll keep.”

“Thanks boss! Following Artifact Bro really pays off!”

“Damn, you guys just took a quick trip to Yingtian, and in less than half an hour, made two hundred thousand gold!”

“No way. Picking up money off the ground isn’t this easy.”

“Pick up money? Without Artifact Bro, you’d just be cannon fodder if you went.”

“Boss, please accept my loyalty. Next time something like this comes up, count me in—I’m your most devoted lackey!”

“Hey, stay focused and grind the mobs! Damn, I almost wiped just now.”

“Seriously, these hard mode mobs are brutal. Artifact Bro, gotta stop chatting or the leader will boot me from the dungeon.”

Is hard mode really that tough? They were all decked out in level twenty gear.

Do you really have to focus this much just to handle the mobs in a dungeon?

Zhang Shan had only run normal mode once and hadn’t followed up on the other modes, so he had no idea just how tough things got.

He decided to check the forums—the all-knowing elders there missed nothing.

He hadn’t looked up this info before, but what he found now startled him.

In extreme mode, the mobs inside the dungeon were level twenty, and their stats weren’t much higher than same-level mobs outside.

However, all the mobs in extreme mode were enraged, with super fast attack speed and movement, and once they spotted a player, they’d swarm in and gang up. Players would be surrounded in an instant.

Unless you maintained perfect formation, nobody could last a minute inside.

As for hard mode, while the mobs weren’t enraged, they still swarmed anyone they saw.

If you tried to run, you’d be safe, but clearing the mobs would be nearly impossible. The dungeon was packed with monsters—trying to kite and clear them all would take a whole day.

The only way was to maintain formation—tanks outside, healers supporting, and the rest slowly clearing the mobs.

Compared to that, the normal mode they cleared last week had been child’s play—practically kindergarten level.

It had been far too easy.

There was another thing: if hard and extreme mode mobs were this fierce, how could the boss be any weaker?

The boss would certainly be much tougher too.

Zhang Shan couldn’t help but pray for Stormcloud World and his team, wishing them luck.

After all, they were in it for the red boss at the end—only the boss’s loot was truly tempting.

Red bosses in the wild were too rare, so the only chance was the weekly dungeon boss.

Now that Little Secretary’s gear was top-notch, and with Stormcloud Qingqing’s totem skills, they were a powerful team overall.

If a team like that couldn’t clear hard mode, it was absurd. What kind of setup would be needed for extreme mode, then?

It should be fine.

In any case, Zhang Shan couldn’t help them, so he focused on grinding his own mobs.