11: What's so great about Chapter 11, the Hard difficulty dungeon? The secret of the scabbard!

"Why aren't you giving me what's rightfully mine?"

An angry voice drifted over from not far away.

Zhang Jian was stunned for a moment. That sounded like Wang Fei's voice?

He turned to look and indeed saw Wang Fei arguing with several people.

From the discussions of the bystanders, he understood the cause of the matter.

The loot distribution for the party Wang Fei had joined was set to 'Leader Allocation,' and it had been agreed beforehand that items would be distributed based on class needs.

It just so happened that after clearing the dungeon, a Rare-grade support-type skill book dropped, and Wang Fei naturally wanted it.

However, the leader refused to allocate it, claiming it wasn't suitable for him.

When Wang Fei tried to buy it with money, the other party ignored him entirely and instead kicked Wang Fei out of the party.

Seeing Zhang Jian approach, Wang Fei felt incredibly wronged.

“Brother Jian, that skill book can increase damage for a single target. If I learn it, I'll have the confidence to support you, and the two of us can grind dungeons together!”

Zhang Jian's nose twitched, and his eyes grew a bit blurry.

This guy was still thinking of him even now.

Seeing that Wang Fei was about to continue arguing, Zhang Jian pulled him back.

“Forget it, Xiao Fei. Don't lower yourself to their level.”

Wang Fei said anxiously, “But my current strength isn't enough to support...”

“It’s fine. You have me. I’ll carry you!”

Zhang Jian said seriously.

He glanced at the people opposite them, wanting to remember their faces.

A red-haired man tilted his chin up, his tone arrogant.

“What? Not happy about it?”

“I am Huo Zhenfeng of the Blazing Sun Academy. You want to seek justice for this kid?”

Zhang Jian scrutinized the man for a moment and then led Wang Fei away.

Huo Zhenfeng sneered at the sight.

“And here I thought he was some big shot. Just a coward!”

Someone beside him chuckled along.

“That guy supposedly changed class to a Swordsman. No one will even party with him for dungeons. How could he have the courage to be disrespectful to you?”

Huo Zhenfeng shook his head, suddenly finding it dull.

A mere Swordsman, and he thought he was someone important!

...

Zhang Jian brought Wang Fei to the dungeon entrance.

After forming a party, he found that the Nightmare difficulty could not be selected.

Upon asking the registration staff, he was told that opening this difficulty required reporting it to superiors.

After recording his and Wang Fei's names, the staff member hurried away.

Although Wang Fei was shocked that Zhang Jian actually dared to challenge Nightmare difficulty with just the two of them,

He believed his good brother was smarter than him and wouldn't go to his death for nothing.

He must have something to rely on.

So, he obediently waited for the report and approval.

After a while, the staff member still hadn't returned, but a few people came out of the dungeon, looking incredibly excited.

“Brother Jie is truly a top-tier class. This Difficult-level dungeon was as easy as reaching into a bag to grab something!”

“An S-rank evaluation! This must be the first one achieved so far, right?”

“More than that. I estimate it could even make it onto the overall rankings for the Trial Dungeon!”

After checking the light screen in front of the dungeon, several people shouted in excitement.

“It's on the board! 100th place on Difficult difficulty!”

Although they had just barely made the list, they didn't care at all.

This was the overall ranking for all Apprentice Professionals in Jin City over the past several decades.

Being in the top 100 was already one of the better results in recent years.

Besides,

This was only their first run.

If they tried a few more times, their rank might even rise!

Ye Wenjie's expression remained calm.

“What are you all shouting for? It's just getting on the board.”

“My goal is the top 20 of the overall rankings!”

His followers looked on in awe. “As expected of Brother Jie, such high ambitions!”

Ye Wenjie suddenly caught sight of Zhang Jian and Wang Fei nearby, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

“Are these two experts unable to find a party, so they're waiting here for a chance encounter?”

The boy beside him also chimed in.

“Hahaha, a trash class and a support that nobody wants. Truly a match made in heaven!”

The group burst into laughter.

“It's just a Difficult-level dungeon. What's there to be so proud of for 100th place?”

Wang Fei couldn't help but retort.

Ye Wenjie raised an eyebrow.

“Such big talk. Do you look down on the Difficult level?”

Wang Fei turned his face away.

He felt indignant in his heart.

Earlier, he had learned from Zhang Jian that he had soloed the Difficult-level dungeon and achieved an SS-rank evaluation.

However, these Trial Dungeons were originally meant for Apprentice Professionals to form parties, familiarize themselves with monsters, and prepare for the Professional College Entrance Examination.

The statistics recorded were all clearance speeds for full parties.

Although Zhang Jian's solo run was an amazing performance, it was not recorded on the rankings.

This left Wang Fei with no evidence when he wanted to show off Zhang Jian's results.

Seeing him silent, the smile on Ye Wenjie's face grew even wider.

Just as he was about to mock them further,

Zhang Jian stood up and said coldly,

“As for whether we look down on the Difficult level, you'll find out in a moment.” Ye Wenjie shrugged.

“I’ll wait and see.”

...

Jin City, Professionals Association.

General Affairs Management Department.

A young man put down the phone, took the document sent over,

And came to an office door.

“Manager Wang, please approve the document for the Trial Dungeon difficulty opening application.”

In the magnificent office, a gloomy-looking middle-aged man took the document.

After flipping through it casually, his eyes narrowed.

Zhang Jian?

How does he, a trash class, dare to challenge the Nightmare difficulty?

Could that thing really be mysterious?

He waved his hand, signaling the other person to leave first.

Once the door was closed, he dialed a private number.

“Things have changed. Gain control of him as soon as possible.”

“Someone applied for an extension on his loan? Which blind fool was it? Reject it!”

“Contact several creditors on your end and apply for a forced early termination of the loan. We cannot give him any chance to turn things around!”

After hanging up, his expression relaxed slightly.

One year ago.

His cousin had teamed up with Zhang Donghai to explore an ancient ruin dungeon.

A scabbard of unknown purpose had dropped.

His cousin didn't care, but when he found out later, he felt something was off.

With the progress of the era of universal class awakening over several decades, an item that even the Heavenly Dao could not identify was certainly not simple.

He immediately wanted to borrow it for study.

However, Zhang Donghai not only refused to lend it but also rejected his high-priced offer to buy it.

He was already prepared to use some underhanded means when Zhang Donghai used the scabbard as collateral for a loan from the Professionals Association.

He immediately gave word to his subordinates to grant the other party a large loan amount.

Even more so after the man mysteriously disappeared and the debt was transferred to his son, Zhang Jian.

He had been following this matter ever since.

He originally thought that with a trash class like Swordsman, Zhang Jian would definitely be unable to repay the loan.

He had already signed agreements with several creditors to get his hands on the scabbard directly.

Unexpectedly,

This Zhang Jian had shown amazing results that completely contradicted his class.

If he were to clear the Nightmare dungeon as well, he might actually be able to scrape together the five million.

This was something he absolutely did not want to see.

Thinking about it, he still felt a bit uneasy.

He picked up the office phone and ordered,

“Notify that the Nightmare difficulty of the Trial Dungeon is undergoing maintenance today and will not be open.”

After doing all this, he leaned back and lay comfortably on the massive leather chair made from the skin of a Level 35 BOSS, the One-Eyed Tiger King.

To be able to cause such a huge transformation in a trash class, he was even more certain of his suspicion.

This scabbard is a treasure!

However,

Soon, it will be mine!

He couldn't help but squint his eyes.