17: Chapter 17: Taking it easy, the hype surrounding the Third Middle School and the ambitions of the Sixth Grade.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated from the leaves of Elwynn Forest. Hu Jinsi sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his Qi slowly circulating through his meridians.

[Meditating... Experience +2]

He opened his eyes and glanced at the pale blue panel deep in his consciousness.

[Remaining time in instance: 04:00:00]

"Four hours left." Hu Jinsi stretched, his joints popping like roasted beans. "Time to head out."

Beside him, Lin Rui had already polished his second-hand heavy armor until it shone, though no amount of scrubbing could remove the crisscrossing scratches on the plates. Su Wan held her lyre and tested a note, confirming everything was in order.

"Four hours left, seek profit, not risk." Hu Jinsi stowed his iron-clad staff back into his backpack. "The Defias Brotherhood on the outskirts of Blackwell Farm already made their contributions yesterday. Today, we go straight for the interior. Target: the patrol inside the farm. As for the other enemies, we'll see how much time we have."

The three of them packed their gear and skillfully took their mountain bikes out of their backpacks. The morning forest was very quiet, with only the sound of bicycles moving through the woods.

"A few hours left, let's pick up the pace." Lin Rui said while riding. "We saw the enemy configuration inside the farm clearly from the Tower of Azora yesterday. Two houses, one field. The Defias Brotherhood patrols around the buildings; there are only boars in the fields, no people."

"There aren't many enemies, we can handle them." Hu Jinsi got on his bike, pushed off with his feet, and said, "Go, go, go, let's move out!"

6:20 AM, Blackwell Farm.

In the woods on the north side of the farm, the corpses of the last few Defias Thieves had already dissipated into points of light. Hu Jinsi hid his bike behind a bush, and the three of them crept toward the interior of the farm along the edge of the ridge. The morning dew soaked their pant legs, and the scent of earth mixed with the fragrance of pumpkin vines wafted over them.

"Two houses." Lin Rui crouched behind a bundle of hay, raising the brass monocular telescope he had swiped from the Tower of Azora. "A large house on the north side, a small house on the east. There are about thirty people patrolling, all old acquaintances, wandering around the houses and the outskirts of the fields."

"There's an advantage to having acquaintances." Hu Jinsi lowered his voice. "We came here for the loot anyway. Get ready to work. Lin Rui, come here, let's see a Charge, show us what you've got."

Lin Rui didn't speak, just silently raised his tower shield in front of him. He took a deep breath, lowered his center of gravity, like a bow being slowly drawn to its limit.

The next second—

[Charge] activated!

The dirt exploded under Lin Rui's feet. His figure instantly turned into a blur, crossing the 18-meter distance in an acceleration! The Defias Bandit had just heard the footsteps when a tower shield over a person's height slapped him in the face!

"Bang!"

[Charge hit. Dealt 12 damage.]

The Defias Bandit was stunned by the impact of the tower shield. As he lost his balance, Lin Rui had already used the momentum of the Charge to crash into him like a cannonball, knocking him down and pinning him underneath.

The back of the Defias Bandit's head hit the ground with a dull thud, and he instantly entered the "Unable to Defend" state.

"Nice!" Hu Jinsi flashed out from the flank, thrusting with [rixats elegy]. The ghostly blue sword light carved an arc, accurately piercing the bandit's throat.

[-14]

[rixats elegy special effect 1 activated: Remove 25% of target's current HP!]

[-18] [-16] [-9]

The blue light surged, and the bandit didn't even have time to scream before he dissipated into points of light.

A second enemy rushed over. Lin Rui didn't even look; he rolled on the spot—[Tactical Roll]! His heavy, tin-can-like armor gouged a trench into the grass. The moment the roll ended, he appeared at the enemy's side, wrapped his arms around the enemy's thighs, and tackled him down again!

"Bang!"

Hu Jinsi and Su Wan arrived simultaneously. Su Wan's light crossbow bolt "thwipped" into the bandit's shoulder, [-6] [-10]; Hu Jinsi's short sword followed closely behind, [-13] [-9] [-10] [-12] [-6], slashing repeatedly across the opponent's body.

"One knocked down by Charge, another wrestled down by Tactical Roll." Hu Jinsi shook the blood off his short sword, full of admiration. "Team Leader Lin, your combos are getting more and more proficient."

Lin Rui climbed up from the ground, patting the dirt off his heavy armor. His voice was muffled under the red mask: "The displacement from Charge is even more useful than I imagined. The impact from speed + weight means the opponent can't wake up at all. It's just that the stamina consumption is much higher than expected."

"After all, you're carrying that much weight and running that fast." Hu Jinsi grinned. "If it didn't have any downsides, it would truly be a skill that lets you step on your own feet to fly."

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes. Under the three-part combo of Lin Rui's [Charge] + [Tactical Roll] + untalented floor grappling, the twenty-plus members of the Defias Brotherhood didn't even have a chance to whistle for backup before being picked off one by one. When the last bandit dissipated into points of light under the blow of Lin Rui's tower shield, there were no enemies left standing on the farm's perimeter.

[Obtained: Red Linen Mask x17]

[Obtained: Linen Cloth x40]

"Nice!" Hu Jinsi stuffed the loot into his backpack, smiling as he did so. "This efficiency is even higher than yesterday."

Su Wan crouched down and picked up a crooked wooden staff from the points of light. A piece of dried bark was embedded in the head of the staff, emitting a faint magical fluctuation.

"This is... a staff?" She tried to pick it up; clearly, she and the staff had no resonance.

Hu Jinsi took it to look, and the panel popped up:

[Withered Wood Staff]

[Type: Staff]

[Effect: Spell Damage +1]

[Note: An old branch struck by lightning. The residual magic can barely amplify spells. For a real mage, this is trash; for a squad without a mage, this is trash that can be sold for money.]

"Spell damage plus one." Hu Jinsi weighed it and handed it to Su Wan. "Can you use it?"

Su Wan shook her head: "Just tried it, this thing is useless to me. And there's no pure magic-class profession in the team..."

"Sell it for money." Hu Jinsi shoved the Withered Wood Staff into his backpack and sighed. "Throw it to the classmates with life-professions after we get out, or list it on the exchange. Should be able to trade it for some potion money. It's a pity, if only there was a proper magic-class professional among our acquaintances."

"Yi Chun? Zhou Wen?" Su Wan offered two examples.

"That druid Yi Chun uses a staff to bash people's skulls in, do you think this thin wooden stick is suitable for that?" Hu Jinsi rolled his eyes. "As for Zhou Wen, he might have something better on him, maybe he'll buy it as a backup staff."

Lin Rui checked the time: 8:15 AM.

"Nearly two hours left." He stood up and looked toward the two houses on the farm. "The large house or the small house, which one to choose?"

The three of them crouched behind the ridge to observe. The door and windows of the small house on the east side were wide open, but one could see three figures moving inside, distinct from the Defias Thieves/Bandits. One of the figures held a staff, and following beside him was a bouncing little thing—that thing had horns and a tail, was bright red all over, and was clearly a small demon.

"Elite monsters." Lin Rui narrowed his eyes, his voice tight. "And at least one is an Elite. The one with the staff must be a magic-class, the other two professions are unknown. Just from the stance of the three of them, you know they aren't easy to mess with."

"So many Elites crowded into one small house." Hu Jinsi licked his lips, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his long staff. "This is fishing, they're afraid we won't die fast enough. Actually, if we didn't care about the cost, one RPG round would take them out no problem, but the key is Lin Rui, did you bring one?"

"No." Lin Rui answered dully. "I spent the money on other things this time, where would I get the money to buy an RPG? Besides, you know my father doesn't encourage using those."

"Then what about the large house?" Su Wan asked.

The door to the large house on the north side was open, and right across from the door was a wooden walkway. One couldn't see inside, and the number of enemies was unknown. But the width of the doorway was only wide enough for one person, which was very disproportionate to the size of the whole house.

Hu Jinsi stared at that narrow door, images of countless dungeon walkthroughs from his past life flashing through his mind—door camping, vision blocking, setting traps, AOE clearing. He suddenly smiled, a cunningness in his smile that made both Lin Rui and Su Wan feel a chill down their necks.

"I have a plan." He said word by word. "Dig a pit, tripwire, open the fight with throwing knives. Old tactics, but the Plus version."

"What plan?" They asked in unison.

"[Fog Cloud Scroll]." Hu Jinsi pointed to Su Wan's backpack. That was one she bought last week for four hundred credits, originally planned to deal with Murloc mages, but she hadn't been willing to use it.

"Su Wan, tear the scroll open in a moment and release a small fog at the door. The door is only this big, the fog will just cover all the traps. I'll rush in and throw the knives to aggro them. The monsters inside will rush out under the cover of the fog, and they won't be able to escape the tripwire and traps. Lin Rui, you and Su Wan stand on both sides of the pit, use spells and Molotov cocktails, try to take them out in one wave."

"The number of enemies in the house is unknown." Lin Rui frowned, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of his tower shield. "What if ten come out?"

"That's why we're seeking profit, not risking our lives." Hu Jinsi crouched down and drew a diagram on the ground with his iron-clad staff. "Then we take it slow. Anyway, there's only one exit, and only one person can pass through the door at a time. This is a natural bottleneck. Dig the pit deeper to trap the front line. The fog reduces their vision, they won't even see where the pit is. If there are many people, they'll trip over their own, which is even better."

"You're still so devious." Su Wan sighed sincerely, taking the Fog Cloud Scroll. "This tactic... sounds so dirty."

"This is called using your brain." Hu Jinsi corrected, looking righteous. "Try to finish setting the traps before 8:45. Team Leader Lin, dig the pit; Su Wan, you and I will set the tripwire."

The three divided the work. Lin Rui took out an enchanted entrenching tool, [Tactical Fortifications (Simple)] activated, quickly digging a circular pit 1.5 meters in diameter and about 1 meter deep at the entrance of the large house. Sharpened wooden stakes were inserted diagonally at the bottom of the pit, and the edge of the pit was camouflaged with dead leaves and loose soil, looking no different from the surrounding ground. Su Wan pulled a tripwire 15 centimeters off the ground at the doorway, nailing both ends to the doorposts without even trying to hide the rope. Hu Jinsi practiced the route for pulling aggro and avoiding the tripwire and pit a few times.

8:45 AM, traps set. Su Wan held the spell scroll in her hand.

The three retreated to the cover behind the pit—still those N-hand tower shields. Hu Jinsi pulled out three throwing knives and weighed them in his hand.

"Aggroing the enemies." He took a deep breath and rushed into the house, not even aiming.

"Whoosh!"

The throwing knives stuck haphazardly beside the enemies' feet, making a dull 'thud' sound.

"Roar—!"

The house exploded into chaos instantly. Heavy footsteps, the sound of weapons clashing, and angry roars mixed together. The first Defias Bandit rushed out of the door, just stepping over the threshold—

Su Wan tore open the Fog Cloud Scroll, and thick white mist instantly swallowed the two-meter area at the door. The bandit's vision went white. Before he could react, he tripped over something under his feet—

"Ah!"

The tripwire tightened, he fell head-first into the pit, and the sharpened wooden stakes pierced his shoulder. His miserable howl resounded through the farm.

The second and third enemies followed closely behind. In the mist, they couldn't see the path ahead at all, and one after another, they stepped into the traps, falling into the pit like dumplings into a pot.

"Now!" Hu Jinsi shouted.

Lin Rui flashed out from the left, pulled the cotton stopper out of a Molotov cocktail, lit it, and swung his arm around to throw it!

"Boom!"

The fireball exploded at the bottom of the pit, and the scorching fire wave swallowed the enemies in the pit. Su Wan held her lyre and plucked it urgently, [Thunderwave]!

"Hum—!"

A loud explosion sounded, the sound waves reverberated in the narrow pit opening, and the splashed dust reduced visibility again. The enemies trying to climb out were blasted back, falling into the sea of fire.

"Keep throwing!" Hu Jinsi beat the enemies at the edge of the pit with his long staff.

The fourth and fifth enemies came out, but the mist and tripwire made them blind. They either fell into the pit or got stuck at the door. Lin Rui used Molotov cocktails to maintain the fire in the pit, and Su Wan's Thunderwave maintained the damage.

8:55 AM, battle over.

The mist dissipated, and the entrance to the large house was scorched black. The enemies at the bottom of the pit had already dissipated into points of light, leaving only a pile of loot shimmering at the bottom of the pit, like a pile of mineral deposits waiting to be mined.

"Job done." Hu Jinsi peered into the pit, full of smugness. "Zero casualties, perfect. 8:55, time to finish up and clean the battlefield."

The three jumped into the pit to clean up the battlefield. The drops were average: [Rough Leather Leggings] x2, [Copper Dagger] x1, and some linen cloth and masks.

The three started a short rest on the edge of the house. Su Wan poured half a canteen of water to moisten her throat, and Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui each ate a piece of the roasted wild boar meat they had brought, recovering their health to full.

9:10 AM, fifty minutes left on the countdown on the panel.

The three of them took a short rest while looking toward the small cabin on the east side again.

"Those three elites..." Lin Rui said in a deep voice, "Should we try the same plan?"

Hu Jinsi shook his head: "That's not very convenient. There was no one at the entrance of the main house, so we had the space and time to set up traps. Over at the small cabin, the entrance is less than two meters away from the enemies. Even if these are mindless monsters in a dungeon, they wouldn't allow you to dig a pit right in front of them. Furthermore, those might be elite mage monsters, and their alert range would be even larger."

"The risk is too high; it's not worth it." Su Wan agreed as well, "It'll be safer once either I or Hu Jinsi reach level 6 next time we come in. If we force it now and end up wiping, we'll really regret it for 30 days."

"Agreed." Hu Jinsi made the final decision, pointing his finger at the bottom of the pit, "Why not use the pit we've already dug to lure the wild boars from the farmland over and clear them out? We don't have much time, so we should farm as many as we can. But that giant wild boar—"

"Avoid it." Lin Rui and Su Wan said in unison.

"Great minds think alike." Hu Jinsi grinned, "That thing is even bigger than the brown bears in the forest; our pit isn't even big enough to be its foot bath. Let it live another week, and we'll face it next time."

The three of them slightly modified the trap at the entrance of the main house—widening the pit's edge and reinforcing the tripwire. Hu Jinsi rode his bicycle, performed a drift right in front of the wild boars, and then used a long stick to whack a boar on its rump.

"Oink, oink—"

Five wild boars were lured over, heads down, charging.

"Here they come!"

The first wild boar stepped on the tripwire, its front legs tripped, and it crashed into the pit. The boars behind couldn't stop in time and fell in one after another; in the blink of an eye, the pit was stuffed with four or five of them, squeezed into a pile.

"Molotov cocktail!"

"Boom!"

A sea of fire exploded at the bottom of the pit. The huddled wild boars couldn't even turn around and were burned, squealing loudly. Su Wan stood at the edge of the pit, and a [Thunderwave] blasted, knocking back any wild boars trying to jump out.

In the last few dozen minutes, the three of them lured four more waves of wild boars, and the bottom of the pit was piled with light orbs. When the countdown on the panel jumped to [00:05:00], they finally stopped and retreated to the periphery of the farm.

"Five minutes left." Hu Jinsi glanced at their gains, and his experience bar had nudged forward a bit more, "This dungeon run wasn't a loss; we're returning fully loaded."

10:00 sharp.

A pale green light film rose from beneath the three of them, and the dungeon's teleportation mechanism activated. The Elwynn Forest before their eyes began to blur, turning into countless swirling light spots. The farm, the cabin, the pumpkin field, and that giant wild boar were all distorted into flowing Blocks of color.

"Going home!"

Their vision blurred, and when they opened their eyes again, the hustle and bustle rushed toward them.

...

The three were teleported to the exit plaza of the Goldshire dungeon. The chaotic sounds reached their ears once again.

But this time, what Hu Jinsi noticed first was not these things.

"...Have you heard? That twin squad from No. 3 High School dropped a Random Awakening Stone in Goldshire!"

"A Random Awakening Stone! And it was dropped by an S-rank class holder; their luck is astonishing!"

"That's not all, they also received a quest from an NPC! A quest actively given by an NPC in the dungeon!"

"Protagonist treatment... Why don't we have that kind of luck?"

The surrounding discussions buzzed like flies, drilling into their ears from all directions. Hu Jinsi and the others had just come out of the dungeon and were immediately filled with talk of "No. 3 High School," "twins," "S-rank," "Awakening Stone," and "NPC quest."

"Damn it." Hu Jinsi picked at his ear with a look of disgust, "This news is spreading way too ridiculously. Is one Awakening Stone really that exaggerated? And it's just a Random Awakening Stone, the one with the lowest value."

"They have good luck." Su Wan pursed her lips and strapped her lyre on her back, "Chen Baoluo and Chen Mali, a Draconic Sorcerer and a Dragon Scion. S-rank classes have the capital to show off. We heard about them when we came out of the dungeon last time, and this time it's even more exaggerated."

Lin Rui expressionlessly put his equipment into his backpack one by one: "Dropping an Awakening Stone and receiving an NPC quest are both secret events within the dungeon. Logically, only the squad members should know, but now it's become known to everyone."

"If this isn't hype, then what is?" Hu Jinsi sneered, his gaze sweeping over the No. 3 High School student gathering area not far away. Sure enough, there was a crowd gathered there, with two students wearing No. 3 High School uniforms standing in the middle, surrounded by school staff like two cash cows, "Is No. 3 High School afraid that people won't know they produced two S-ranks? Are they afraid the Education Bureau's funding won't come through? Are they afraid they won't be able to recruit good talent next year?"

"Kicking someone when they're down." Su Wan said softly, "Our school just had that incident with Zhao Lei..."

"That's why they have to hype it even more." Hu Jinsi shrugged, "I understand, but it's annoying. Let's go, time to report in."

The three of them walked familiarly toward the No. 1 High School reporting area. Their homeroom teacher, Teacher Fan, was indeed there, standing in the shade with his hands behind his back, holding a list, his expression much softer than usual. Ever since the Knight Squad incident last week, Teacher Fan's face had been as if frozen in ice, but today it actually had some warmth.

"Teacher Fan." Lin Rui stepped forward and handed over the operation log, his tone steady, "Jack-of-All-Trades Squad, Goldshire 72-hour survival mission, successfully completed."

Teacher Fan took the log, glanced at it, and let his gaze sweep over the three of them. After confirming that they were not missing any arms or legs, he nodded slightly: "How were the gains?"

"Not bad, we had some gains." Hu Jinsi showed off the drops from his backpack, such as the red mask, linen cloth, withered wood staff, etc., and added, "Also, I have a situation report—Lin Rui has already reached level 6."

"Level 6?" Teacher Fan raised an eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth actually lifted upward.

That smile was like a crack appearing on a frozen lake; although brief, it was real. Since the Knight Squad incident last week, this was the first time the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad had seen Teacher Fan smile.

"Not bad." Teacher Fan nodded, his tone carrying a touch of sincere approval, "Lin Rui, Soldier level 6, you've learned Tactical Fortifications (Simple). Which random skill did you get?"

"Tactical Roll." Lin Rui straightened his back, his voice hiding uncontrollable pride, "A displacement skill that comes with weapon switching and evasion effects."

The smile in Teacher Fan's eyes deepened, and he even gently patted Lin Rui on the shoulder: "A displacement skill? Your luck... is even better than I imagined."

He paused, then suddenly lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the three: "Come to think of it, you dropped a brand-new Awakening Stone—Rog—on your very first dungeon run. In terms of luck, you are much better off than those two kids from No. 3 High School. It's just that your class ratings aren't high, so you don't have enough public attention."

Hu Jinsi's heart "thumped." Is Teacher Fan... going to promote them?

Sure enough, Teacher Fan's next words confirmed his guess. He looked around and lowered his voice even further, but it was still loud enough for the three to hear clearly: "Since Lin Rui has managed to reach level 6, should I promote you guys? Especially the fact that you dropped a brand-new Awakening Stone on your first dungeon run; bringing that up would be enough to let other schools know that our students at No. 1 High School aren't bad either. We can't always be suppressed by others."

"Teacher Fan," Hu Jinsi hurriedly stepped forward, his tone sincere and his expression earnest, "Please don't promote us."

"Oh?" Teacher Fan raised an eyebrow, his gaze filled with a bit of inquiry.

"This is the result of pay-to-win. Although pay-to-win isn't something shameful." Hu Jinsi said with a sincere face, counting on his fingers, "Molotov cocktails, grenades, fuel, bicycles, heavy armor, tower shields... we poured in over 20,000 credits just to achieve this efficiency. It's not worth it; who knows, maybe next week others will pay even more and surpass us, and then we'd be so embarrassed."

He paused and added: "And our whole squad agrees with this point. Right?"

Lin Rui and Su Wan nodded at the same time. Lin Rui said in a deep voice: "Hu Jinsi is right. This was piled up with money, not innate talent. Promoting it would just make other students blindly follow suit and waste money. We originally planned to stop once everyone reached level 6."

Teacher Fan looked at the three, then looked at the other students nearby who were pricking up their ears to eavesdrop. He pondered for a moment and finally waved his hand: "Alright, since your squad is in agreement, I won't insist."

He lowered his voice, his tone carrying a bit of admonition, as well as a sense of relief after his teacher's utilitarianism was politely declined: "However, it's good that you know what you're doing. The matter with those two kids from No. 3 High School... you've heard about it too?"

"We've heard." Su Wan said quietly, her fingers unconsciously clutching the corner of her clothes, "Dropping an Awakening Stone, NPC quest, it's all the talk of the town."

Teacher Fan sneered, that smile carrying a bit of cynicism from someone who had seen through the ways of the world: "The same old routine. Potential rating doesn't equal combat power. It's rare to have students with S-rank potential; if they don't hype it up, how will people know their school trains them well? Especially since our school just had that incident with Zhao Lei—"

He paused, his voice even lower, as if squeezed through his teeth: "Two students died in the second month after awakening; it's exactly the time for them to kick us when we're down. If our school had produced two S-ranks, we would do the same. It has nothing to do with you, don't let it affect your mindset, just focus on your own path."

"Then, Teacher Fan, will you be okay?" Su Wan asked worriedly, her eyes very sincere, "The matter with the Knight Squad last time... the Education Bureau..."

"Don't worry." Teacher Fan smiled, that smile carrying a bit of fatigue but more of a sense of calm, "There are so many people in the classroom; everyone knows what I said. And the leaders of the Education Bureau have also communicated with those above and obtained the specific records from inside the dungeon, so I'm fine. Instead—"

He looked at Lin Rui, his gaze gentle, "Lin Rui, level 6, steady and solid, very good. You three are more clear-headed and more... mature than I imagined."

"Thank you, Teacher." The three thanked him in unison.

Leaving Teacher Fan, the three walked toward the place where the No. 1 High School students were gathered. Since most of the classmates were here, the atmosphere was much livelier than last time. Everyone was gathered in small groups, gossiping with great excitement, but the topic mostly revolved around that pair of twins from No. 3 High School.

The class monitor sat behind a folding table, holding a registration book, and was registering materials for a few students who had just come out. He awakened as a Merchant, a life class, so he didn't need to enter dungeons. Therefore, everyone threw their materials to him, and he would register, appraise, and contact buyers for them, effectively serving as the logistics manager for the combat classes in the class.

"Yo, you're back?" The class monitor looked up, his eyes behind his glasses lighting up, and he waved at them, "Need to register? Same old rules, throw the materials here, and I'll help you list them on the school's internal trading platform."

"Thanks." Lin Rui handed over the package containing the dropped items, "These, plus some ingredients harvested from the farm, I'll give them to you after I sort them out later."

A few classmates immediately gathered around, asking in a flurry of voices: "Where did you go this week? Still wild boars and Murlocs?"

"Yes." Su Wan smiled and took out her bicycle keys, shaking them, "The farm and the lakeside."

"Lin Rui is level 6, right?" The class monitor pushed up his glasses, his tone calm and not surprised at all, "First in the class."

"Yeah, level 6." Lin Rui nodded.

A chorus of "As expected" sighs sounded around them, and no one showed that kind of exaggerated shocked expression. After all, the fact that the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad was prepared to pay-to-win was not a secret in the class—large-scale material procurement, going to the Gunpowder Squad to buy Molotov cocktails, these were all things everyone knew.

"My family already prepared items to enhance Summoners for me last week. Zhao Lei would have also survived by relying on life-saving items provided by his family's pay-to-win." Sun Yao squeezed over, holding her summon book, with a calm face, "After all, you only have one life. Our squad has indeed benefited from the dividends of pay-to-win."

"Exactly." A boy nearby who usually only farmed beasts also nodded, "Those three from the Gunpowder Squad, they throw bombs into the cave as if they don't cost money. Although they lose a bit, the experience really goes up fast. Anyone who still holds onto the idea of 'zero-pay is glorious' now is truly stupid."

"But pay-to-win is pay-to-win," the class monitor scribbled a few lines in the registration book and looked up at the three, "Do you have any new intelligence this time? Besides the pig-tripping tactic shared before."

"Yes." Hu Jinsi sat down on the edge of a flower bed, his expression becoming serious, "We discovered that the equipment drop rate for humanoid monsters is much higher than for beasts."

He recounted the drops his squad encountered from the Defias Thieves: red masks, linen cloth, leather armor, daggers, and even staves. He specifically emphasized the combat intelligence of the Defias Thieves, who could use Stealth, Block, and whistle to call for reinforcements.

"Really?" A girl frowned, "Humanoid monsters drop equipment? When we farmed wild boars before, besides meat and hide, it was just tusks."

"It's true." Lin Rui said in a deep voice, "We cleared a wave at the outskirts of the farm, and the drops from twenty-some thieves were worth more than forty wild boars. And I suspect that the Awakening Stone of that S-rank class combination was dropped by a Defias Brotherhood humanoid monster."

"But humanoids..." another girl bit her lip, a look of resistance on her face, "Those Defias bandits look just like real people. It always feels weird when attacking them."

"I understand," Su Wan said softly, "We were also stunned when we first encountered them. But they are just dungeon projections, residual memories from world fragments, not real people. Besides, Professionals are realistic—that slight psychological discomfort really is nothing compared to equipment and Credits."

The surroundings fell silent for a moment. Several classmates who usually only dared to grind beasts looked at each other, their eyes gradually wavering.

"Then... shall we try it next time?" someone asked in a low voice.

"Why not give it a try," Hu Jinsi waved his hand, "But remember, at least a three-person squad, bring crowd control and healing. Don't get separated, don't get greedy with attacks. Start preparing crowd control at half health, don't give them a chance to call for reinforcements."

The students started discussing excitedly. Some began calculating how to pool money to buy firebombs, while others lowered their heads to record key points in their notebooks. The class monitor listened while scribbling in the registration book, muttering about the market price of linen cloth.

Sun Yao had been listening nearby for a while, and suddenly remembered something, waving at Su Wan: "Wanwan, I'm going to go check that out! The Nature Squad is calling me, the Pear Garden Squad is performing a combat scene!"

"Hey, where are you going?" Su Wan looked up.

"To grab a spot!" Sun Yao hugged her Summoning Book and ran off in a flash.

Su Wan chuckled, turning to look at Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui: "Why don't we go check it out too? It's still early anyway."

"Let's go." Hu Jinsi stood up and brushed the dust off his pants.

The three squeezed through the crowd and arrived at an open space on the other side of the plaza. It was already surrounded by two layers of students, and from the center of the crowd came a rapid beat of gongs and drums and the squeaky sound of an erhu.

In the center of the open space, the three members of the Pear Garden Squad were being surrounded by a group of students as they performed. Wu Yingyu had four flags inserted into her back, held a flower spear, and moved to the beat of the gongs and drums. Her body spun, the flags moved without wind, making a crisp "whoosh" sound, and the flower spear thrust out from a tricky angle, the tip stopping in mid-air, trembling slightly.

Beside her, Wang Jingshan's face was painted with red, black, and white greasepaint, and he held a large Guan Dao in his hand. As his facial makeup changed, his aura also shifted. The large Guan Dao was held horizontally in front of him, his footsteps steady, occasionally coordinating with Wu Yingyu's rhythm to perform Block and counterattack actions. The blade's light and the flags intertwined, possessing a strange rhythm.

The last person sat on a rock holding an erhu, fingertips sliding over the strings. The music was sometimes high and piercing like armored horses in battle, sometimes low and mournful like weeping, and the sound waves rippled through the air. Some in the surrounding crowd subconsciously stepped back half a step—that was the aftermath of psychic interference.

"Bravo!" Sun Yao stood in the front row, clapping excitedly.

The performance ended, and Wu Yingyu withdrew her spear and stood still, breathing slightly. The corners of her eyes were red, she still kept her stage makeup, and there was a hint of sharpness in her heroic spirit. Her gaze swept across the crowd and met Hu Jinsi's.

"Hu Jinsi." Wu Yingyu spoke, her voice crisp like a recitation on a stage, "You guys are out too?"

"Yeah." Hu Jinsi smiled and cupped his hands in a salute, "Was that just now... a live reenactment of fighting Kobolds?"

"Real combat in Fargodeep Mine." Wang Jingshan wiped the greasepaint off his face with his sleeve, revealing his originally handsome face, the large Guan Dao still in his hand, "We adapted it into a martial arts play. We're planning to perform it at the kindergarten during our break to grind some Professional experience. What do you think?"

"Quite interesting," Su Wan said sincerely, stepping forward, "Especially that flag Block, the sound and movement were perfectly synchronized. Is this a mechanic of your profession?"

"Yes." Wu Yingyu nodded, patting the four flags on her back, "A Daomadan needs to complete routines like the 'Appearance', 'Qiba', and 'Zoubian' to the beat of gongs and drums before the flags can trigger defensive and evasion bonuses. Without BGM, I'm not even as good as a regular Spearman profession."

"Same for the Painted Face," Wang Jingshan put the large Guan Dao back into his backpack and started wiping the greasepaint from the corners of his eyes, "Applying makeup before battle, different facial makeup provides different temporary bonuses. The one just now was 'Strength', increasing strength and resistance to hits. If I hadn't applied the makeup, I wouldn't be able to take a single hit from a Kobold's pickaxe."

Mo Ming held the erhu, head slightly lowered, his voice soft but clear: "The String Master is even slower. I have to finish playing the piece for the teammates to receive buffs and for enemies to receive debuffs. That time during your practical training class..."

"You guys weren't prepared that time." Hu Jinsi laughed, taking over the conversation, blunt and straightforward, "The Daomadan's wind-up was obvious, the Painted Face didn't apply makeup, the String Master's debuff hadn't been applied yet, and the battle was over. We didn't win honorably; we just had the advantage of going first."

"You can't put it that way." Wu Yingyu shook her head, thumping her flower spear on the ground, the flags rustling, "There is no honorable or dishonorable in battle, only prepared or unprepared. We've tested it; if we have three minutes to prepare, the gongs and drums start, the makeup is finished, the String Master sets the stage—fighting your Jack-of-All-Trades Squad, it would be a 60-40 split. We'd be the 60."

"So confident?" Lin Rui raised an eyebrow.

"We have confidence." Wang Jingshan smiled, but there was a hint of helplessness in his smile, "The problem is, who gives us three minutes in a dungeon? Monsters won't say 'Actors, please take your positions'. That's why we cross-class squad up, not minding each other's flaws."

"We can schedule a practical training session later to try it out," Hu Jinsi said, "But for now, let those of us who just came out of a dungeon catch our breath."

Everyone laughed.

Sun Yao hugged her Summoning Book, interjecting with a look of longing: "I'll be able to reach level 6 in next week's dungeon. At level 6, I can draw an auxiliary template to apply to my summons. Celestial template, Elemental template, Undead template... it's purely luck-based. If I'm lucky, the summon undergoes a qualitative change; if I'm unlucky, I have to wait for the next draw at level 16. I really don't want my little pony to turn into an Undead horse."

"Me too." Yi Chun scratched his head, his robe covered in grass clippings, "Druids gain the Animal Companion ability at level 6. A combat pet that grows with your level, is loyal, and smart. I've been thinking about what animal to form a partnership with. A wolf? A bear? Or an eagle?"

"Find a wild boar," Hu Jinsi said with a straight face, "There's a giant wild boar over in Goldshire, bigger than a brown bear. If you can tame it, you'll be able to walk sideways in dungeons from now on."

"Screw you!" Yi Chun laughed and scolded, "I don't want such an ugly partner. Besides, that thing is clearly an elite monster; if I go now, I'm just serving myself up on a platter."

"Glad you know." Hu Jinsi laughed and dodged.

"What about Shaman at level 6?" Su Wan looked at Zhen Kai.

Zhen Kai sat cross-legged on a rock, the totem ornaments swaying on his chest: "A level 6 Shaman can gain one opportunity to communicate with the Ancestral Spirits. What you get is purely random—maybe a summoning skill, a totem skill, or a melee skill. It completely depends on which Ancestral Spirit you communicate with. Water Blue Star has such a long history, who knows what you might communicate with."

"Maybe you'll communicate with some ancient famous general," Hu Jinsi joked, "And then get the 'Army of Thousands' skill, summoning a group of ghost cavalry to help you Charge the line."

"Can you be serious?" Su Wan nudged him with her elbow.

"I am being serious," Hu Jinsi said with an innocent face, "I'm just thinking that level 6 is a hurdle. Get past it, and skills undergo a qualitative change; fail to get past it, and you'll have to brute force it in the next dungeon. Yi Chun has an animal companion, Sun Yao has a template, Zhen Kai has Ancestral Spirits, and Lin Rui will have a new skill at level 6—everyone has a bright future."

"What about you?" Su Wan asked.

Hu Jinsi grinned: "Me? My requirements aren't high, just surviving to level 6 is enough."

Everyone laughed.

The class monitor shouted from afar: "Hey, Hu Jinsi, can you explain the details of those humanoid monster reports again? I didn't get it all down just now."

"Sure." Hu Jinsi turned and walked back, Lin Rui and Su Wan following.

The three merged back into the crowd, forming a circle with their classmates. Hu Jinsi squatted on the edge of the flower bed, counting on his fingers as he added tactical points about the Defias bandits for the surrounding students: superior combat skills, able to stealth and backstab, whistling for reinforcements at half health, suggesting bringing a crowd control chain. Su Wan occasionally added details about the timing of crowd control, while Lin Rui listened silently, occasionally nodding.

In the distance, the three members of the Pear Garden Squad were still whispering about the flaws in their performance. Several members of the Nature Squad gathered together, arguing about what breed to choose for their animal companions.

———————I am a dividing line———————

Setting Collection—Daomadan

[Daomadan]

[Professional Core Positioning: Rhythm-based Evasion Counter-attacker. You are not a heavy armored tank on the battlefield, but a Daomadan on the stage—constructing a unique offensive and defensive system through flashy evasion, precise Block, and counterattacks that borrow the enemy's force. Your strength does not stem from muscles, but from absolute control over the "rhythm" of combat.]

[Professional Introduction: They are a spectacle on the battlefield, moving fortresses. When the gongs and drums sound, the four flags are as nimble as fingers, and the flower spear flows like mercury pouring to the ground. All the enemy sees are the afterimages of flying flags and the cold gleam of the spear tip. Their combat is a grand performance, and every wrong step could bring this performance to an end at the cost of their lives.]

[Professional Characteristics: You must enter and maintain the "Stage Walk" state during combat to unleash the true power of the flags. Your defense relies on precise timing judgment and flashy evasion, rather than heavy armor.

Stage Walk: You must enter the "Stage Walk" state through a movement action (similar to dance steps). In this state, your combat will revolve around the following core:

Rhythm Check: At the beginning of each round, or when you perform specific actions (such as evasion, Block), you must perform a "Rhythm Check" (Agility or Performance check). If successful, your "Stage Walk" remains perfect for this round, and you gain buffs; if you fail, the rhythm is interrupted, and the buffs disappear.

Buff Effects (in "Stage Walk" state):

Flag Protection: The four flags on your back can be considered four additional miniature shields, which can be used to Block ranged attacks (once per round, consuming the "flag surface" integrity of one flag).

Agile Movement: Your base movement speed is increased, and you have an advantage on evasion checks against attacks of opportunity.

Counterattack Stance: After you successfully evade a melee attack, you can immediately perform an attack of opportunity counterattack against the attacker with your flower spear (this does not consume your normal attack count).]

[Professional Skill—Appearance: Enter the "Stage Walk" state with a flashy action. On the activation turn, your initiative check gains an advantage, and you Stun (Dazzle) one enemy observing you for 1 round]

[Professional Skill—Spinning Flag Dance: After you successfully evade while in "Stage Walk", you can consume the durability of one flag to launch a whirlwind-style flower spear sweep against all enemies within 5 feet of you]

[Professional Skill—Gong and Drum Beat · Rushing Wind: You can maintain "Stage Walk" while moving. Your movement will no longer trigger enemies' attacks of opportunity, and your movement speed is significantly increased.]

[Professional Skill—Spear Flower · Pointing General: Your flower spear attacks carry a "Flaw Strike". If it hits, the target suffers a disadvantage on their attack hit check against you in the next round.]

[Professional Skill—Special Skill · Flag Discarding (Ultimate): You can actively detonate all remaining flags, dealing area-of-effect damage based on your Performance/Agility to enemies within 10 feet, and knock them back. Afterwards, you exit "Stage Walk" and fall into a brief state of exhaustion (1-2 rounds of stat reduction).]

Key Attributes: Agility (DEX, Core), Charisma (CHA, used for Performance/Rhythm checks), Perception (WIS, used for predicting enemy attacks)

Professional Disadvantages:

Extremely Fragile: You are a performer, you cannot wear medium or heavy armor. Once "Stage Walk" is interrupted or all flags are destroyed, your defense will plummet.

Fear of Area Attacks: AOE skills are difficult to evade and will damage multiple flags at once.

Continuous Consumption: Maintaining a high-intensity performance is a huge physical and mental burden.