TSA Chapter 64

The internet-addicted youths indulged in another lavish meal. After eating and drinking their fill, they left the hotel together and headed to the Star Gaming Lounge.

Their goal was crystal clear—leveling up and earning Physical Exchange Coupons. However, their priorities had shifted; instead of focusing on battle armor and enhancement potions, they were now all about gourmet food.

When they logged in again, the guild members were already used to this routine. While they didn’t know the details, they were well aware that the top players had gone to meet up in real life.

During the day, when Night Owl and the others were competing, the only online guild manager was Feng Tian. However, Sword at Fleeting Time and Windstorm Jiangnan always handled guild affairs before logging off, so Feng Tian’s responsibilities were mainly organizing dungeon runs and answering occasional questions from members. It wasn’t too difficult.

[Guild] Evernight: Boss, boss! When are you guys heading to the Abyss Dungeon?

[Guild] Unbreakable Mountain and River: Will you be streaming this time? (Excited emoji)

Sword at Fleeting Time had previously informed the guild that this Abyss Dungeon run would include three new members—Alice, Cain, and September Sky. He had also openly explained why they were chosen, ensuring that no one felt unfairly left out.

Although everyone wanted to join the main team for dungeon runs, they understood the selection process. After all, there were only three open spots, so it made sense to pick the best candidates. Since the core team’s levels were already high and they had little need for gear from the Level 30 Abyss Dungeon, going with them was essentially a free loot run—an absolute blessing!

But it wasn’t a fixed lineup, and members would rotate. As long as they worked hard to level up and contributed to the guild, anyone had a chance to be chosen next. Because of this, the entire guild was more motivated than ever, with members constantly grinding dungeons.

That didn’t dampen their excitement for a potential live broadcast, though. So far, no other team in the game had successfully cleared the Abyss Dungeon. The last livestream had been a massive event, and now nearly everyone in the game knew about Night Owl’s team.

This time, they were running purely as a guild team, without any outside reinforcements, making a successful clear even more significant!

[Guild] Sword at Fleeting Time: We’ll run experience dungeons first, then tackle the Abyss Dungeon. As for streaming, I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know later.

Since they hadn’t logged in all day, they needed to grind experience dungeons first to maintain their level advantage. A higher level would give them a better shot at clearing the Abyss Dungeon. Whether or not they streamed would depend on negotiations with the GM—maybe they could wrangle some extra perks.

[Guild] Cain: Got it, got it! Rubbing my hands in excitement! I’m ready anytime!

[Guild] Alice: Me too! Me too!

[Guild] September Sky: My dear, though I must part from you soon, my heart will always be with you~

[Guild] June Snow: Please roll away. I do not need your presence!

[Guild] Sword at Fleeting Time: You guys go ahead and grind dungeons or level up. We won’t be ready right away.

[Guild] Cain: No problem, I’m out in the field farming mobs. Just call me when you’re ready.

[Guild] Alice: I’m leveling up my life skills, but I’m on standby!

[Guild] September Sky: I’m running dungeons with my wife. Just ping me when you’re ready.

[Guild] Sword at Fleeting Time: Got it.

Ran Qi and the others didn’t waste any time. They quickly split into two groups and headed off to grind experience dungeons.

Black and White World was a Level 35 dungeon, so Night Owl no longer gained experience from it, and the others barely got anything. Instead, they opted for the Level 40 dungeon—Ten Thousand Insects Cave.

The name alone gave away the dungeon’s theme.

It was a nest of insects, featuring two bosses: a venomous scorpion and a poisonous centipede. The cave was crawling with their minions, all of which carried deadly venom. Anticipating this, Ran Qi brought extra cleansing potions. His Purification skill could remove all debuffs, but it had a cooldown, so it was better to be prepared.

The team soon arrived at the dungeon entrance. As usual, they ate some food to buff their stats before Night Owl activated the dungeon.

Inside, the cavern was pitch black, and the air was filled with the eerie rustling of countless insects.

The moment they stepped out of the safe zone, waves of small insects swarmed toward them. Gu Le charged in to draw aggro while Night Owl cast a firewall to block the advance. The flames illuminated the cave, revealing walls and floors densely covered in wriggling bugs. The sight alone was enough to send shivers down their spines—once players reached this dungeon’s level, it would surely become infamous among female players.

The sheer number of insects made it impossible to avoid all attacks. Despite their caution, they occasionally got bitten. Fortunately, the venom in the experience dungeon was nerfed, and as long as the poison didn’t stack too much, it wasn’t lethal.

“I brought some cleansing potions. Take a few just in case,” Ran Qi said after finishing off another wave of insects.

“Thanks.” After seeing how dangerous the bugs were, no one refused his offer.

Pushing forward with steady momentum, they soon reached the first boss—the Demonized Venomous Scorpion.

As expected of a boss, it was massive, standing about four or five meters tall. Its body was covered in a hard, deep-purple exoskeleton that radiated a highly toxic aura. Besides its razor-sharp pincers, it had powerful fangs and a thick, muscular tail. At the tip of its tail, a venomous stinger glowed with an ominous blue light.

“Be careful, everyone! Do not get stung by its tail!” Night Owl shouted.

“Understood!” everyone responded in unison.

Gu Le charged ahead with his shield raised, but whether due to its low durability or sheer bad luck, the scorpion’s tail managed to pierce right through it. With the venomous blue stinger just inches from his face, his expression instantly turned grim.

“Lele, pour this potion on your shield and be careful!” Ran Qi immediately tossed him a bottle of [Armor Potion]. Thanks to his habit of stockpiling items, he had brewed some alchemy products using leftover materials while making scrolls, intending to sell them in the Trading Hall. However, he had forgotten about them in his inventory, and now they were coming in handy.

[Armor Potion] increased armor defense by 50% for 20 minutes—plenty of time to handle this boss.

Gu Le took the potion and poured it over his shield without hesitation. This time, he successfully blocked the scorpion’s deadly sting.

With the shield issue resolved, Gu Le firmly held aggro, allowing the team to start attacking. Night Owl, now boosted by the White Tiger Crown, had an absurdly high attack power, nearly pulling aggro several times.

Fortunately, his combat instincts were sharp. Whenever he noticed the boss was about to switch targets, he would immediately stop attacking, only casting small magic projectiles occasionally. Even with such restraint, he still topped the team’s DPS chart.

They initially thought avoiding the scorpion’s stinger would be enough, but this boss had some unexpected tricks. Its entire body was poisonous—even its blood was toxic. Worse yet, when burned, the poison turned into a toxic gas, making it even harder to deal with. Night Owl had to stop using fire magic entirely.

Ran Qi was also exhausted, constantly casting Purification to cleanse poisons. He had to chug three full stacks of mana potions before they finally brought the boss down.

At least with this experience, they would have a much easier time next run.

After a brief rest, they moved on to the next boss.

The second boss was a massive mutated centipede with a black shell and spiked legs. Its exoskeleton was incredibly tough, and every joint was lined with venomous spikes. On top of that, it could burrow underground to launch surprise attacks, making it a real headache to deal with.

However, it had a weakness—its soft underbelly. Attacking it would deal critical damage, but the moment it was hit, it would immediately burrow underground again. Keeping it exposed long enough to land consistent hits was no easy task.

Fortunately, the team had plenty of crowd control skills. Night Owl used Glacier to slow it down, while Plume Ink and Soul Chaser kept it pinned with skills like Triple Strike, Kick Shot, and Explosive Arrow. This prevented the centipede from burrowing, allowing them to focus their attacks on its weak spot. Compared to the scorpion, this boss was much easier to take down.

[System Announcement] Congratulations to players [Night Owl] [Soul Chaser] [Plume Ink] [Sword at Fleeting Time] [Coke] [Bai Ran] for clearing the Ten-Thousand Insect Cavern experience dungeon in under 20 minutes, earning the achievement [Insect Nemesis].

They had gained another new title, further boosting their stats.

Finishing the remaining four dungeon runs took just over an hour.

While running the dungeon, Sword at Fleeting Time had also been in contact with the GM, and now he had an answer.

“If we live broadcast our Abyss Dungeon run today, the GM agreed to give us 30 Physical Exchange Coupons.”

Now that Night Owl and the others had leveled up significantly, clearing the Level 30 Abyss Dungeon would be a breeze. It wouldn’t be as thrilling as their first attempt, but since no other team had cleared it yet, the stream could still serve as motivation for others.

After some intense negotiations with the GM, Sword at Fleeting Time managed to secure 30 Physical Exchange Coupons—not per person, but as a lump sum. This meant each team member would receive two, which was still a pretty great deal for them.