80: Chapter 80 As a monk, I hate the world setting under the first version of the rules.

After the Cyclops, acting as the final boss, dissolved into motes of light, it left behind two pieces of equipment. Hu Jinsi couldn't help but exclaim, "The final boss is truly generous."

One was the waist guard, and the other was the bracers. It was exactly as expected—you get what the boss is wearing.

Hu Jinsi stepped forward, picked up the two pieces, took a look, and then tossed them to Lin Rui with disdain. Lin Rui was confused at first, but after seeing the stats, he became instantly excited.

[Giant's Waistband]

[Type: Belt / Waist Ornament]

[Brute Body: Strength adjustment +1 (maximum not exceeding 20), derived from the infusion of a giant's survival instinct.]

[Giant's Resilience: The wearer gains medium (+3) advantage on saves against poison, disease, and Constitution-based unconsciousness/exhaustion.]

[Item Description: A belt woven from thick animal sinew and hard leather, with a polished, bone-made buckle in the center. It was originally tightly fastened around the Cyclops' waist, covered in stone dust and dried sweat. When tied around a mortal's waist, one can feel a steady stream of heat rising from the lower body.]

---

[Gravel Bracers]

[Type: Heavy Armor / Bracers / Vambraces]

[Bludgeoning Resistance: When the wearer uses this equipment for defense, physical bludgeoning damage taken is halved.]

[Immovable as a Mountain: Once per day, when the wearer is forcibly displaced by an external force, they can use a reaction to stabilize their stance and become immune to this displacement effect.]

[Item Description: This pair of forearm armor is forged from dark metal, with rough gravel deliberately embedded on the surface to form a unique, textured pattern. The lining is thick, elephant-hide-like leather, with deep creases at the wrists formed by the giant's long-term wear. When worn, one can clearly feel its excellent cushioning against impact.]

---

Although Hu Jinsi had some psychological expectations—after all, this Cyclops was clearly a Strength-attribute boss, and the gear it dropped would certainly be related to Strength and Constitution.

"So miserable—it's just too miserable." Hu Jinsi slapped his thigh, his voice drawn out long.

Su Wan glanced at him, wearing an expression that said, "Please, start your performance."

"Six bosses!" Hu Jinsi counted on his fingers. "A single dungeon, six bosses, and not a single piece of equipment I can use dropped! The only cape we were forced to take is something I can't use at all!"

He flipped his palm and showed it to Lin Rui: "See? Cleaner than my face."

"Look at Lin Rui; he's already gotten two pieces just for the bracer slot, plus a belt and a spear. This dungeon is practically a treasure trove for Lin Rui!"

"And they said this dungeon was friendly to Western fantasy classes like Hu Jinsi's. Where is the friendliness?"

He clutched his chest, looking pained: "Looking at these drops, it's just discrimination against his Monk class! Tell me, which of these bosses is related to an agility-based class like a Monk? It's completely impossible for Monk-related gear to drop, okay!"

He turned to Su Wan and cupped his hands: "Not to mention Su Wan's Bard, which is also a Western fantasy class. Aside from Orcs, Tauren, and this Cyclops, if these bosses could drop Bard gear, then I, Hu Jinsi, have seen a ghost."

Hu Jinsi paused and rubbed his chin: "No, wait, Su Wan at least got two useful pieces of equipment. Stronger than yours truly."

After saying this, he laughed first and raised his eyebrows at Lin Rui.

Seeing Hu Jinsi performing his usual unreasonable antics, Lin Rui hurriedly made a gesture. After equipping the new [Giant's Waistband], he took off the [Crocodile Skin Belt] he had been wearing and handed it to Hu Jinsi, letting him keep it as a reward for his hard work.

As for the two forearm pieces, Lin Rui stated that he would keep the [Gravel Bracers] dropped by this boss, as the "Immovable as a Mountain" special effect was simply too practical and could save his life at critical moments.

As for the [Minotaur's Cast Iron Bracers] dropped by the Minotaur in the second stage, he would sell them along with the Half-Orc bloodline potion as part of the squad's loot. Leaving these things in his hands would just collect dust; it was better to exchange them for Credits and split them equally.

At the same time, Lin Rui noted that because he had taken too much in this dungeon—so much that he felt a bit embarrassed—he would be responsible for all food expenses for the next dungeon, and everyone just needed to open their mouths and wait to eat.

"Boss Lin is generous!" Hu Jinsi cupped his hands.

Su Wan also learned to cup her hands: "Boss Lin is generous!"

After some noisy banter, everyone was joking around and bonding.

But it was not yet 9 AM, and the three of them clearly didn't want to leave so early.

After all, this was the first week of school, and the three of them didn't want to stand out as early as they did last semester.

Leaving this early would only lead to two outcomes: either they triggered a forced teleportation talisman and were kicked out by a boss or the scene, or they had cleared the dungeon.

Clearly, the trio's current state couldn't disguise a forced teleportation exit, as dungeon records were checked instantly.

Although reporting to the teachers would reveal they had cleared the dungeon, there was no need to make a big fuss about leaving early, as all high schools in Wei City had teachers outside.

Leaving at 10 AM, reporting quietly, and slipping away was better than being treated as a role model by everyone again.

Even though the portal to leave the dungeon had opened, the three of them clearly intended to linger here until after 10 AM to be forcibly teleported out by the dungeon.

The bored group could only meditate or organize their gear. As for Su Wan, she was even more bored; she took out a music score from her backpack and started practicing quietly in a corner.

Lin Rui, who had finished maintaining all his equipment, checked the time; there were still 15 minutes left before they could leave.

Out of boredom, he took out his binoculars and looked out through the windows on the top floor of the temple.

The morning sunlight fell on the sea, shimmering like shattered gold, and a few white seabirds swept past the window, the sound of their wings beating clearly audible. The sea breeze, carrying a salty, damp scent, poured into the hall, blowing away the smell of gunpowder and blood left by the battle.

He scanned the coastline aimlessly and suddenly stopped.

"Hey! You guys come look!"

Lin Rui's loud call startled Su Wan and Hu Jinsi. The two hurried to his side, took the binoculars from his hands, and looked in the direction he was pointing.

They were surprised to discover their castle from the second stage; it turned out that the distance between these two stages was, as Hu Jinsi had guessed, not that far.

Through the binoculars, they could clearly see the flags fluttering on the castle; the place where they had once fought now looked so close.

Lin Rui even speculated further that if those classes with their own boats, such as Fishermen or Captains, used their own ships, they should be able to cross this fjord directly from that seaside and rush straight to the beach of the sixth stage.

Su Wan glanced at him, feeling that Lin Rui had been completely led astray by Hu Jinsi's train of thought.

She asked Lin Rui: "If a Fisherman or Captain comes in, what use could they have besides ferrying people? The battles in the remaining stages are all on land. Don't you think it's a bit extravagant to let them in just to have them ferry you on a boat?"

Lin Rui clearly woke up, realizing he had just been a bit too excited.

After all, Hu Jinsi's guess was so accurate; the current observation had proven that the plan was at least 80% feasible.

The rest was simply for the three of them to buy an all-terrain vehicle after going out this week, and then experiment next week to determine the final details.

But what Lin Rui didn't know was that the reason Hu Jinsi could guess this result was because the game [The King of Dragons] was too classic.

Even if Hu Jinsi had been slow to react earlier, now that they had reached the sixth stage, if he still couldn't guess the prototype of this dungeon, there would be a serious problem.

Back at school on Monday, Hu Jinsi had thought this place was a fragment of the Forgotten Realms or a parallel world, but with the enrichment of materials in class this week, he discovered that this was actually a dungeon generated from an arcade game world.

Because that arcade game displayed a small map between stages, and although a long time had passed, Hu Jinsi still had a vague memory of that map, which allowed him to guess that the straight-line distance between these stages was actually very short.

But as Hu Jinsi recalled the content related to this dungeon, he felt even more depressed.

Because once he recalled this, he also understood that the original five protagonists of this world—Warrior, Cleric, Dwarf, Wizard, and Elf—had absolutely no part for his Monk, so how could there be Monk gear?

There was no need to count on Su Wan's Bard either. No, wait, Su Wan's Bard could at least hope for some Elf gear, but his profession was an armorless class, and he couldn't wear those Elf items either.

What was even more problematic was that the rules for the prototype of this dungeon were from the first edition—back then, some classes weren't even distinguished; the Elf class was just Elf, and the Dwarf class was just Dwarf.

This is a disaster. The first edition rules didn't have classes like Monk or Bard at all. How could this dungeon drop Monk and Bard gear? The two of them could at most pick up other loose pieces—that is, accessories, necklaces, and the like; they could still use capes, but hoping for big items was a lost cause.

Fortunately, in Hu Jinsi's memory, there weren't many games, novels, anime, or films based on these first edition rules. Aside from [The King of Dragons], the next most famous was [Record of Lodoss War].

Anyway, there hadn't been any news about the [Record of Lodoss War] dungeon descending onto Water Blue Star yet, and even if it did, Hu Jinsi had experience now and wouldn't enter that dungeon.

"What are you thinking about?" Su Wan asked.

"Nothing." Hu Jinsi waved his hand. "Calculating how much this week's harvest will sell for."

Finally, they made it to 10 AM, and the three-person squad was forcibly teleported out of the dungeon.

---

The three of them stepped out and discovered that no one around was paying attention to them because everyone's attention was drawn to another matter.

Almost everyone who appeared at the dungeon entrance heard the first piece of news: "Did you hear? The pair of S-rank dual-class twins from No. 3 High School cleared this dungeon in the very first week, and they even cleared it half an hour early."

Hearing this gossip, the three of them exchanged a look. Sure enough, their guess about this low-probability event came true. They knew this kind of thing would happen sooner or later because the three of them never had very good luck.

So, according to what the three of them had discussed in the dungeon, since other students had succeeded, they would just report that they hadn't cleared the dungeon. Anyway, the school finding out they had cleared it would be a matter for a few days later when they returned to school; at least for this period, they would let the No. 3 High School students enjoy the limelight.

Following the signs, the three of them arrived at the reporting station for No. 1 High School.

Since speaking is an art, the three of them didn't say they hadn't cleared the dungeon; they just said they had been delayed too long on the ship, and the ship they experienced in the dungeon wasn't the one that hit the reef according to the materials, but a slow-moving ghost ship.

Teacher Fan explained that the reason he previously mentioned the ship had run aground was mainly because the professional who went in to investigate was a Transcendent class; he estimated that the dungeon had triggered a countermeasure mechanism against him, so he had entered a stranded ship.

But in reality, after you entered the dungeon this week, everyone landed on a ship that was capable of sailing; it might have been a normal sailboat, or of course, it could have been a slow-moving ghost ship.

Teacher Fan didn't say anything more about this; perhaps in his impression, he thought the three of them had been affected by the ghost ship in the fifth stage, which was why they had run out of time.

The three of them muddled through it just like that; even they themselves felt the excuse was a bit far-fetched, but Teacher Fan didn't seem to have any intention of digging deeper.

While waiting for the bus and discussing with classmates in the class, it turned out exactly as Hu Jinsi had guessed: their disguised progress at the fifth stage was actually considered quite fast.

Most teams were stuck at the fourth stage, and many students, because they weren't well-prepared for their first entry, had slipped off cliffs in the third stage and used up their forced teleportation talismans. This caused teams that had lost members to be unable to advance smoothly, getting stuck at the third stage, so the overall progress was not very ideal.

However, for classmates who were familiar with them, they clearly wouldn't believe this set of excuses.

For instance, the Pear Garden Squad didn't believe the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad's story at all, and they pulled the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad aside.

Wang Jingshan in particular was quite blunt and said directly to Hu Jinsi, "Jinsi, you guys are just fooling people. The three of us managed to force our way to the fifth stage, and I don't believe you guys are also stuck at the fifth stage. Your progress last semester was so much faster than ours, how is it possible for you to be stuck at the fifth stage just like us?"

Seeing this situation, Hu Jinsi knew he couldn't fool them, so he could only whisper quietly to the Pear Garden Squad: "We did clear it, but we don't want to be forced into the spotlight like last semester. Because being in the spotlight has no meaning for us."

"The school doesn't give us any rewards, and we just end up getting dirty looks and jealousy from others for nothing; it's meaningless. Anyway, we won't hold back any of the intelligence that should be shared with you, just keep it a secret for these few days."

After hearing this, Wang Jingshan and the others, although somewhat puzzled by Hu Jinsi's low profile, nodded and agreed to keep this secret for them.

Next, the three members of the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad engaged in a brief intelligence exchange with the three from the Pear Garden Squad.

Hu Jinsi did not tell the Pear Garden Squad about the unverified intelligence on hand for the time being, only saying that they also had some uncertain things and would tell them next week once they were confirmed.

But for the content that had already been confirmed this week, especially the physically demanding mountain climbing task in the sixth stage, the three of them emphasized this to the Pear Garden Squad.

Hu Jinsi's exact words were: "Without the assistance of transportation, relying solely on walking, the sixth stage scene would take at least a day and a half to complete."

"A day and a half!"

The Pear Garden Squad was clearly somewhat surprised upon hearing this news, and Mo Ming blurted out: "Then how did you guys pass it?"

Su Wan also told the truth: "This time, the sixth stage indeed took us a day and a half, and Lin Rui and I were almost exhausted from the climbing."

"The mobs along the way don't really matter; if you can beat the mobs in the first stage, you can beat the mobs in the sixth. But this mountain climbing scene in the sixth stage is truly torturous. It's not at all the kind of mountain in a scenic area that you imagine, but a genuine wild mountain."

"Maybe it's a little better than a wild mountain, my description was an exaggeration; at least it has some kind of path in a sense, but this path is very steep and built winding around the mountain."

"You guys also made it to the fifth stage; that mountain could actually be seen from afar on the ship in the fifth stage. If you recall, you'll be able to understand the pain of the climbing we mentioned."

"Therefore, our biggest piece of advice for you regarding this dungeon is to be sure to purchase transportation before entering the dungeon next time. As for other things like climbing ropes, safety buckles, and parachutes, I believe you have also deeply experienced this along the way, and you should still prepare what needs to be prepared."

After finishing the serious business, the group returned to the school's ranks and listened to everyone chatting about gossip.

---

Just then, someone suddenly said that Sun Yao and her newly formed squad had also reached the sixth stage this time and had even passed the golden Minotaur in the sixth stage. It was just that they ran out of time at the end, so they didn't get to fight the Cyclops. It should be said that if they were given another two hours, they would have been able to clear it.

Wang Jingshan, who was listening on the side, exclaimed in surprise: "That's impressive. I haven't really looked into what kind of class combination they have to be fighting so fiercely."

That student from another class, whose face Hu Jinsi recognized but whose name he couldn't recall, said: "It's said to be a combination of Heavy Knight, Summoner, Ranger, Mage, and Warlock."

Lin Rui also asked with some curiosity: "There's a Mage and a Warlock in there, and both of these classes are short-legged classes, and the terrain in the third and fourth stages is so difficult to navigate, so how did they get through so fast?"

A classmate who was familiar with the situation said: "That Warlock and Mage are actually students from their class who come from relatively wealthy families. They had already prepared magic carpets last semester. That's what you call a true Mage Lord; they basically don't need to walk on their own two legs in the dungeon."

Alright, Lin Rui exchanged a look with Su Wan; the solution Hu Jinsi had mentioned had actually become reality, though it wasn't a magic carpet for everyone yet.

It's estimated that if they really go all out next week and get a multi-person magic carpet, these people are going to go crazy.

Lin Rui couldn't help but imagine that scene: five teammates, each on a magic carpet, flying in a line in a grandiose manner over the dungeon, while the monsters below could only crane their necks and stare blankly. That scene would be less like an adventure squad and more like a tour group.

But Su Wan still had some doubts. After all, Sun Yao was a classmate in the same class, and they had been in the same class for a year and a half, so she generally understood her temperament. Suddenly changing from a relatively quiet student into this kind of flamboyant, pay-to-win tycoon style felt like a bit of a drastic change in character.

Su Wan was a person who couldn't really keep things to herself, so she quietly found Sun Yao's former teammate, Zhen Kai, to ask if he knew anything about the situation.

Although Zhen Kai had formed a team with new friends, he clearly refused to talk about Sun Yao's affairs. He obviously knew something, but in order to protect his teammate's privacy, he didn't say anything either.

Su Wan looked at Zhen Kai's expression—wanting to speak but not daring to—and became even more certain that there must be some hidden story behind this, but since he wasn't willing to talk, she couldn't press him further.

---

The three of them, unable to get any new information, put aside their interest in gossip and lined up to board the bus back to school. On the bus, they started boredly browsing the Professional Mall to check the prices of related items.

As it turned out, they didn't know until they checked; when they searched for related items, they found that the prices of items related to this dungeon in the local market had skyrocketed across the board.

The kind of shoes Hu Jinsi mentioned that could walk directly on walls or cliffs, similar to the effect of Spider Climb, had now risen in price to nearly five digits.

Five digits! The firearm in Lin Rui's hand that had left them speechless was only 15,000 credit points, so how could a pair of broken shoes with a simple purpose be sold for a price close to five digits?

As for other goods with ample supply, such as climbing ropes, safety buckles, and portable parachutes, their prices also had varying degrees of increase.

Seeing this price, Hu Jinsi couldn't care about being on the bus and couldn't help but curse loudly: "Profiteers, a bunch of profiteers."

Other students on the bus were also curious about the source of Hu Jinsi's cursing. After Hu Jinsi showed them the search results, the students on the bus were all filled with righteous indignation and joined in the cursing.

But while cursing, they didn't forget to rush to place orders; who knew if they would still be able to buy them at this price after the situation fermented for a few hours?

Some students cursed the profiteers while clicking the buy button as fast as they could, afraid that if they were one second late, someone else would snatch them up; others stared at the five-digit price tag on the screen with bitter faces, silently calculating whether to ask their families for money.

---

Having finished venting, Hu Jinsi seized the time to search on the Professional Mall. He remembered the Scouring Charm wand that Su Wan had bought, so he also wanted to see if that piece of equipment was available. Sure enough, similar items had been dropped and listed, but unfortunately, it wasn't the kind Hu Jinsi had in mind, though it would suffice.

[practice flying broom]

[Type: Magical Transportation / Mount]

[Low-Altitude Levitation: Can be activated by setting a password yourself, can levitate up to 0.9 meters off the ground, requires continuous concentration or until actively cancelled / interrupted by being hit.]

[Riding Movement: During riding, the movement speed is the same as the rider's own movement speed, and spell buffs are effective. Riding requires consuming magic crystals or spell slots for charging; each spell slot consumed provides 0.5 hours of riding power.]

[Anti-Interference: Has weak resistance to spells below level 3 or natural wind.]

[Storage: Can be shrunk to the size of a normal broom, making it easy to carry on the back or put into a miscellaneous item bag.]

[Restriction: Load must not exceed 90 kg; not suitable for fully armed adults to ride for long-distance flight.]

[Item Description: An old but well-maintained elm-handled broom, with the tail twigs bound with silver wire. When riding, it is at most 0.9 meters off the ground, suitable only for gliding on flat ground or low-speed skimming over grass and corridors. It is the model used by first-year Hogwarts students for their introductory flying lessons, not the combat-ready Nimbus 2000 series. The activation command is usually a simple ancient phrase or a whistle.]

Hu Jinsi sent this piece of equipment to Su Wan and Lin Rui the moment he discovered it. After Su Wan saw this equipment, she immediately perked up.

After all, what girl doesn't have a dream of being a happy little witch? This was almost like how boys in Hu Jinsi's past life all dreamed of having a Gundam.

Su Wan couldn't help but imagine the scene of herself riding a broom and soaring in the sky, her skirt fluttering in the wind; that feeling of freedom and romance made her heart warm up.

Su Wan was about to place an order immediately, but Hu Jinsi stopped her and said: "Think carefully, your little treasury still needs to cover the shoe repairs and the purchase of the all-terrain vehicle this week."

Su Wan ignored Hu Jinsi's dissuasion and placed the order directly. After finishing, she said: "With this, who would still want an all-terrain vehicle? Besides, we haven't sold our harvest from this week yet; that Orc bloodline is worth at least 20,000 credit points."

Lin Rui then said: "I think Hu Jinsi's purpose in sending it over definitely wasn't to have you buy it, right?"

Hu Jinsi nodded helplessly and said: "Definitely not for Su Wan to buy. Who knew that faced with this kind of item, even someone as rational as Su Wan would lose her rationality."

"This prop is basically just a large toy; with a flight height of 0.9 meters, it can't even fly over a slightly larger rock. My purpose in sending it out is that with it, our class's Mage, Zhou Wen, will be able to keep up with our pace."