TSA Chapter 42

Ran Qi dragged the still-dumbfounded Gu Le, whose mouth was agape in shock, back to the dormitory and explained the reason for their physical improvements.

“Really?” Gu Le’s eyes instantly lit up as he cupped his face in joy. “Just eating food can improve your physique? That’s way too good to be true! I’ll exchange all the Physical Exchange Coupons in my account for food right away!”

“Aren’t you planning to save up 500 coupons for the enhancement potion?” Ran Qi asked. Though he also used coupons to trade for food, he usually did so sparingly, only treating himself after accumulating a substantial amount—like people in his previous life who scrimped and saved to buy a house but occasionally treated themselves to something nice.

After all, saving up 500 coupons would take a long time. Whether sooner or later, it didn’t make much difference.

“Pfft, I don’t want that. What’s the point of becoming so strong? If my physique accidentally exceeds A-Level, I’ll have to switch majors to the Mecha Department and start learning from scratch. Too much hassle! It’s better to just coast through until graduation, Gu ‘Proud Lazybones’ Le declared. “I’ll boost my aptitude after graduation; it’ll make job hunting easier then.”

“Haha… I see…” Ran Qi forced a polite but awkward smile. Unlike Gu Le’s laid-back attitude, Ran Qi was eager to improve his physique. Being stuck with a weak body was incredibly inconvenient—he couldn’t even ride faster hovercars.

In the interstellar era, transportation was highly advanced. Many hovercars had supersonic modes, akin to luxury supercars in his previous life. But he was limited to the most basic models, and even those had built-in safety monitoring systems…

To be reborn as a lucky rich second-generation heir yet unable to enjoy any thrills—how could he not feel frustrated?

At that moment, Ran Shaojun initiated a video call. Ran Qi quickly answered.

Ran Shaojun got straight to the point. “Xiao Qi, is there a way to get more fresh ingredients?”

“Sure, I still have plenty of coupons. Dad, how much do you need?”

“Not much, just one or two pounds. Fruits and meats are both needed to identify the source of this trace activity.”

Ran Qi readily agreed. “No problem.”

“By the way,” Ran Shaojun added, “until I get more definitive results, don’t share this information with anyone.”

“Understood.” Ran Qi wasn’t foolish—he could guess that there might be something unusual about the source of these ingredients. Otherwise, the government and the game officials wouldn’t keep this information under wraps. There had to be a reason.

After ending the call, Ran Qi logged into the game’s official website and used his coupons to redeem one pound of strawberries, two pounds of pork, and one pound of potatoes, sending them all to Ran Shaojun.

“Ranran, can we still eat these?” Gu Le clutched his bowl of strawberries, looking at Ran Qi with wide, hopeful eyes.

Gu Le had overheard the conversation between Ran Qi and his father. Since Ran Shaojun was going to analyze the ingredients further, Gu Le worried that they might be forbidden from eating them until the results were in.

He couldn’t bear it—while the game simulated tastes, it couldn’t compare to the real thing, eaten and digested in the real world.

Having just fallen in love with the joys of delicious food, was he going to be deprived of it so soon?

“We can eat them, just not too much. Moderation shouldn’t be an issue,” Ran Qi reassured him with a smile. He had faith in the research and development team at his father’s company. Those high-salary scientists were just as skilled as the Imperial Academy’s experts. If they said the trace active elements were beneficial, then they were undoubtedly safe to consume.

“That’s great! Let’s eat quickly and not waste anything!” Relieved, Gu Le happily popped another strawberry into his mouth.

After an hour of offline rest, Ran Qi and Gu Le logged back into the game.

As soon as Ran Qi came online, he received a private message from Night Owl.

[Private Chat] Night Owl: Perfect timing. A guild team is struggling with the Blackstone Mine Challenge Dungeon and needs help. Do you have time to join me?

[Private Chat] Bai Ran: Of course.

Helping guild members clear dungeons was the responsibility for guild management. Jiangnan and his team had already been split up and assigned to lead dungeon runs. Even Night Owl had to personally step in this time.

[Private Chat] Night Owl: I’ll add you to the team.

[System] Friend [Night Owl] has invited you to join a party. Do you accept?

After Ran Qi accepted, he entered a new party. Besides Night Owl and himself, the rest were new guild members.

The team’s main tank was Unbreakable Mountain and River, a level 29 Warrior. The other members included Jia Tu, a level 28 Archer; Cain, a level 30 Assassin; and Sleepless Night, a level 29 Mage.

A Priest and another Assassin had left the team to make room—Alice and Twilight. While Alice was decent at healing, her skill set lacked Purification. When the Chameleon boss sprayed poison, she had no way of countering it, leading to a total party wipe. Additionally, their DPS wasn’t sufficient, and the boss kept regenerating health, making it extremely difficult for them. As a result, Alice and Twilight voluntarily stepped aside to let stronger players take their place.

“Guild leader, vice guild leader, thank you for helping us.”

Ran Qi: “It’s no trouble.”

Night Owl: “We’ll be there shortly.”

The two of them headed toward the mine dungeon. Ran Qi sent a message to Gu Le, explaining the situation and telling him not to wait.

They only needed to help Unbreakable Mountain and River’s team defeat the final Chameleon boss, which would take no more than 20 minutes.

Upon entering the dungeon, they found Unbreakable Mountain and River and the others waiting at the entrance.

Ran Qi glanced at the main tank’s equipment, which had a rating of around 3400. It was decent enough to handle the boss.

“Have you studied the strategy guide?” Night Owl asked.

“Yes! We prepared a lot of dispel potions, but the boss’s poison is too strong, with a large attack range. The potion’s cooldown is also too long, and we just couldn’t manage…” Unbreakable Mountain and River explained apologetically.

“No problem. Follow my commands, and it’ll be fine.”

“Understood!” The team responded enthusiastically, their eyes filled with admiration for Night Owl, like fans idolizing a celebrity.

Ran Qi couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

“Great Master Bai Ran, thank you for coming all this way!” They didn’t forget about Bai Ran either. They’d all watched the live stream of the Abyss Dungeon last time and were thoroughly impressed by Bai Ran’s clutch performance as a top-tier Priest. In the current <Magic Realm>, if Bai Ran claimed second place among Priests, no one would dare claim first.

Caught off guard by the praise, Ran Qi froze momentarily before shaking his head and saying, “It’s fine. Just focus on the fight and don’t be nervous.”

“Got it!”

Soon, the group stood before the Chameleon boss once more.

Night Owl: “Let’s start.”

Without further prompting, Shanhe Bupo moved forward to grab the boss’s aggro. Once the aggro was stable, Night Owl unleashed a barrage of spells.

Magic bullets, fireballs, glaciers, firewalls, and more. The boss’s health plummeted like a crashing waterfall, almost causing Night Owl to steal aggro multiple times. It wasn’t intentional—his overwhelming damage, coupled with the level gap, caused this.

Fortunately, the glaciers and firewalls blocked the boss’s path, preventing it from getting close to Night Owl.

Night Owl strategically paused his attacks, giving Unbreakable Mountain and River time to regain aggro.

Though the team knew Night Owl was strong, they hadn’t expected him to be this powerful, leaving them in awe.

“It’s spraying poison! Everyone, move behind it!” Night Owl called out as the boss’s belly began to swell.

The poison spray was the team’s biggest challenge. Last time, even Ran Qi had almost been caught off guard. This time, however, Ran Qi had prepared acceleration potions, allowing him to move twice as fast as before. He even had enough time to cast Purification on the short-legged Mage, Sleepless Night, who had been poisoned.

The Chameleon boss, now heavily damaged, activated its stealth skill but was promptly revealed by Night Owl’s firewall, letting out a roar of impotent rage.

“Only 10% health left! Focus fire!” Night Owl said, glancing at Bai Ran.

Ran Qi immediately understood and cast Holy Light. Bathed in the glow, the team’s health quickly regenerated regardless of the boss’s attacks.

In the final moments, the team stood within the Holy Light’s range, ignoring the boss’s strikes and unleashing all their attacks. Within minutes, the boss was defeated.

Unbreakable Mountain and River and the others were dumbfounded. The battle had gone so smoothly, lasting less than ten minutes—it felt like a completely different boss from before.

“The guild leader and vice guild leader are amazing!” They gazed at Night Owl and Ran Qi with stars in their eyes.

Night Owl’s DPS alone equaled that of three players combined, while Bai Ran’s precise and steady healing ensured their health never dropped below 80%. His Purification timing was impeccable—sometimes clearing poison even before the affected player noticed.

What’s more, the two of them worked together seamlessly. Their positioning and skill usage seemed to require no verbal communication—they instinctively understood each other.

Truly a golden partner!

Since the team had wiped once before, the final clear rating was only Grade A, earning them a silver chest. This left everyone slightly disappointed.

“Guild Leader, you open it! Your luck is amazing!” Cain suggested, his eyes sparkling, clearly eager to watch the lucky draw of their very own ‘Lucky God’ up close.

He hadn’t forgotten how Night Owl always managed to draw rare treasures on stream. With that kind of luck, he hoped Night Owl could help them land some great loot this time too.

Night Owl: “…”

Ran Qi covered his upturned lips with his hand and stepped in to help. “How about I open it? My luck’s pretty decent too.”

“Sure!” The others had no objections. Either of the two big shots opening the chest was fine by them.

Ran Qi’s lucky streak didn’t disappoint. From the silver chest, he pulled out a purple Knight’s Blade and an Abyss Fragment, much to Cain’s delight.

“Amazing! Long live the Vice Leader!”

Without hesitation, they submitted the Abyss Fragment to the guild warehouse. If they could reach level 30 soon, they might even secure a spot in next week’s Abyss raid.

Night Owl said, “Alright, we’ll head out.”

“Got it!”

After leaving the team, the two formed a private duo party again.

Ran Qi asked, “What are we doing next?”

“Do you want to farm the Blackstone Mine experience dungeon or the Dark Prison?”

After a brief moment of thought, Ran Qi replied, “Dark Prison.”

The Blackstone Mine was a level 25 dungeon, and given their current levels, they wouldn’t gain any experience from it. It wasn’t worth their time. The Dark Prison, on the other hand, was a level 30 dungeon that offered more experience. Plus, claiming the first clear for its challenge dungeon would reward them with more Physical Exchange Coupons, which was exactly what Ran Qi needed right now.